Tech toys open a new world for Calgary and area youth

With cool new gadgets like virtual reality goggles and invention kits, Minds in Motion is set to roll out three new technology workshops for their spring and summer programs for youth. And, the technology-based workshops will now be free with funds from the largest-ever federal investment in digital technology education.

Minds in Motion, a University of Calgary-based non-profit that offers science education to underserved youth such as girls, new Canadians, at-risk youth and Indigenous youth, will receive $150,000 in funding over the next two years from Actua, Canada’s largest science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) outreach organization.

“This is a significant investment and the first time that the federal government has invested in STEM and digital skills at this level,” says Julia Sather, co-ordinator for Minds in Motion, in the Faculty of Kinesiology’s Active Living unit.

“I’m excited that the government is going in this direction as STEM fields are becoming more in-demand in the job market. This is going to open a lot of doors for a lot of kids.”

The new technology workshops will be free and accessible for all students and teachers from kindergarten to Grade 9 in Calgary, and for Indigenous groups in the Calgary area.

New toys for workshops  

Minds in Motion will use some of the funds to travel to Indigenous communities, but mainly they will use the funds to purchase inventive programmable toys that make it fun and easy to learn computer science skills. By the end of a workshop, students and teachers can learn enough about coding to program a robot to go through a maze, or tell a story.

They have also purchased virtual reality googles so that students can explore places like Mount Everest, the Great Wall of China or a dissection lab in a virtual world, an affordable option for students who might not otherwise get the chance to explore new places, or have access to a fully equipped lab.

“We want to open up new worlds for students by making technology accessible and fun, and inspire them to learn more about it,” says Sather. “These are skills they will need for future jobs.”

The new workshops are now available on the Minds in Motion website by making a workshop request.

About Minds in Motion

Minds in Motion is a network member of Actua and is co-hosted at the University of Calgary by the Faculty of Kinesiology’s Active Living unit and the Schulich School of Engineering. Actua received $10 million in Government of Canada CanCode funding which they will distribute amongst their 35 network members across Canada. CanCode is a $50 million fund, announced in the federal budget in 2017, for the development of coding and digital skills across Canada to increase competitiveness in the global economy.