Actua is a Canadian
charitable organization that delivers science,
engineering and technology educational programs to young people in Canada.
The organization is a member of the Science and Technology Awareness Network (S.T.A.N.). Actua's president and CEO is Jennifer E. Flanagan.
Organization
Programs
Actua's programs use hands-on activities in fields such as health, mining, biology and ecology. The majority of member organizations also travel outside the urban centers where they are located to deliver camps and workshops in rural and remote communities.
The programs include:
*National Mentorship Program
*National Aboriginal Outreach Program
["Feds invest in science camps", Kassina Ryder and Emily Ridlington, Nunavut News/North, Nunavut, July 19, 2010]
*National Girls Program
*Go Where Kids Are Program
In July 2021, Actua was awarded a $50,000 grant to develop "vaccine safety content" targeted towards students and teachers to combat
vaccine hesitancy. The funding was administered jointly by the
Canadian Institutes of Health Research,
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council through the "Encouraging vaccine confidence in Canada"
COVID-19 vaccine
A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19).
Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an e ...
funding program.
Membership
Actua operates on a membership structure, consisting of member organizations located at 31 university and college institutions across Canada. Actua's member programs are delivered by undergraduate and high school students through science camps and workshops, which are customized to the needs of local communities.
The program has 34 members throughout the various provinces and territories of Canada.
Alberta
*
Lethbridge
Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 Alberta municipal censuses, 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...
: ''Destination Exploration'' at the
University of Lethbridge
*
Edmonton: ''DiscoverE'' at the
University of Alberta
*
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
: ''Minds in Motion'' at the
University of Calgary
*
Red Deer: ''Science Promotion'' at
Red Deer College
British Columbia
*
Kamloops
Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, w ...
: ''EUReKA! Science Program'' at
Thompson Rivers University
*
Vancouver: ''GEERing Up!'' at the
University of British Columbia
*
Burnaby: ''Science AL!VE'' at
Simon Fraser University
*
Victoria: ''Science Venture'' at the
University of Victoria
Manitoba
*
Brandon: ''Mini University'' at
Brandon University
Brandon University is a university located in the city of Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, with an enrollment of 3375 (2020) full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate students. The current location was founded on July 13, 1899, as Brandon Co ...
*
Winnipeg: ''Eco-Kids'' at the
University of Winnipeg and WISE Kid-Netic Energy at the
University of Manitoba
New Brunswick
*
Fredericton
Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...
: ''Worlds UNBound'' at the
University of New Brunswick
Nova Scotia
*
Halifax: ''SuperNOVA'' at
Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...
*
Antigonish: ''X-Chem Outreach Program'' at
St. Francis Xavier University
Nunavut
*
Iqaluit: ''Simply Science'' at the
Nunavut Research Institute
Ontario
*
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
: ''Adventures in Engineering and Science'' at the
University of Ottawa and Virtual Ventures at
Carleton University
*
Guelph: ''Creative Encounters'' at the
University of Guelph
*
London: ''Discovery Western'' at the
University of Western Ontario
*
Toronto: ''Engineering Outreach'' at the
University of Toronto and Science Explorations at
York University
*
Waterloo
Waterloo most commonly refers to:
* Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat
* Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place.
Waterloo may also refer to:
Other places
Antarctica
*King George Island (S ...
: ''ESQ'' at the
University of Waterloo
*
Kingston
Kingston may refer to:
Places
* List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated:
** Kingston, Jamaica
** Kingston upon Hull, England
** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia
** Kingston, Ontario, Canada
** Kingston upon Thames, ...
: ''ASUS Camps'' at
Queen's University Queen's or Queens University may refer to:
*Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada
*Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
**Queen's University of Belfast (UK Parliament constituency) (1918–1950)
**Queen's University of Belfast ...
*
Thunder Bay: ''Superior Science'' at
Lakehead University
*
Hamilton: ''Venture Engineering and Science'' at
McMaster University
*
Brantford: ''SNP STEAM Academy'' at
Six Nations Polytechnic
Six Nations Polytechnic (SNP) is a Haudenosaunee-governed Indigenous institute on Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation. SNP is an Indigenous Institute, the third pillar of post-secondary education in Ontario, as recognized by the ''Indige ...
Quebec
*
Montreal: ''Folie Technique'' at
École Polytechnique de Montréal
*
Trois-Rivières: ''Génitrucs'' at
Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
*
Laval
Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of:
People
* House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne
* Laval (surname)
Places Belgium
* Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxem ...
: ''Musée Armand Frappier'' at
Centre d'interprétation des Biosciences
Saskatchewan
*
Regina: ''EYES'' (Educating Youth in Engineering & Science) at the
University of Regina and ''FNU Health and Science Camp'' at
First Nations University of Canada
*
Saskatoon: ''SCI-FI Science Camps'' at the
University of Saskatchewan
Yukon
*
Whitehorse: ''Science Adventures'' at
Yukon College
Awards
In 2000, Actua was awarded the Michael Smith Award by the National Science and Engineering Research Council.
In 2000, Actua submitted its programs to an independent evaluation process to measure their programs' effectiveness. The three-year research initiative surveyed student participants who revealed their experience with Actua programs.
In 2009, the Ontario Trillium Foundation named Actua and its 11 Ontario members the winner of the Minister's Award recognizing not-for-profit organizations that have had "an exceptional impact in their communities."
References
{{Reflist
External links
Official website
Charities based in Canada
Educational organizations based in Canada