The STEM trip to Sudbury

On Thursday May 12, 2016, Thirty-one STEM students and 3 teachers departed for Sudbury to attend a number of STEM related activities including visiting Laurentian University, Science North and Dynamic Earth. Upon arrival they immediately made their way to the Chemistry Lab where they participated in a Bacterial DNA separation and witnessed several impressive demonstrations put on by the staff of Laurentian. That was followed up with a Biology Lecture and campus tour. The day finished at the Doran Planetarium where professor Paul Emile Legault discussed the objects we can find in the night sky.

Day two started with a physics lecture about neutrinos from a professor who also works at SNOlab, a research facility also located in Sudbury. He discussed the detection process, located over 2 km below ground, far away from all cosmic rays. The students got to see a replica model of the medal awarded for the Nobel Prize in Physics, which was recently awarded to those at SNOlab. The rest of the day was spent at Science North, a science center where students learned about the DNA molecule, chemical reactions, magnetic fields and the human body before getting to see a couple of local mammals up close. The IMAX film that evening was called "A Beautiful Planet', which featured Earth as seen from the International Space Station.

Their last day was a visit to Dynamic Earth, an opportunity to go into a mine and learn about Sudbury's rich history of mining. Students panned for gold, reached about various rocks & minerals, and got to see a life size replica of the Megadolon, the world's largest shark that ever existed.