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Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Festival

STEMFest is driven by a myriad of organizations from industry, post-secondary, not-for-profit associations, and government, working together to promote the role STEM plays in the evolving worlds of education, innovation, trade, industry, and community. Join us at STEMFest 2018. This is an opportunity you don’t want to miss. Meetings between students and business representatives
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Monday, November 5 – Friday, November 9
Halifax Convention Centre Discovery Centre Dalhousie University

Youth Event

Between November 5 and 9, 2018, 600 grade 7 and 8 students from across the province will participate in hands-on, inquiry-based, career-related STEAM workshops in Halifax.

All workshops will be developed in conjunction with Nova Scotia Department of Education and Early Childhood Development consultants and will be facilitated by industry leaders, academics in related fields, and educators. We are thrilled to announce one of the workshops will build towards the creation of a collective art installation piece to be housed at the Halifax Convention Centre as a legacy feature.

STEMFest 2018 will increase awareness of and spark curiosity in STEAM-related careers, particularly those that are unique to the Nova Scotia context.

Teachers accompanying their grade 7 and 8 students, will participate in relevant professional learning.

Supported by:

Province of Nova ScotiaMichelinNSERC
 

Post-Secondary Events

 
Saturday, November 3 OR Sunday, November 4
9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Halifax Convention Centre

Science Communication Workshop

Event on Plans in Gambling

A one day (Saturday or Sunday) science communication workshop

The workshop will be presented by Jay Ingram and Mary Anne Moser widely known as pioneers of science communication workshops.

Jay Ingram

Jay Ingram was co-host of Daily Planet, the hour-long prime-time science program on Discovery Channel, for 16 years and helped launch and design the show. Prior to that he hosted CBC’s Quirks and Quarks for 12 years, freelanced for CBC’s Morningside, and hosted two CBC radio documentary series. He was contributing editor to Owl magazine for five years, he wrote a weekly science column in The Toronto Star for 12 years, and currently writes a column for Canadian Wildlife.

Mary Anne Moser

Mary Anne Moser has built a career where art, culture and science intersect. She has worked as a journalist, an award-winning designer and was the founding editor of the Banff Centre Press. She started the Banff Science Communications Program in 2005, Canada’s Iron Science Teacher competition in 2007 and was member of the start-up steering committee for the Science Media Centre of Canada in 2010. She is the editor of two books on science in society: Immersed in Technology (MIT Press 1995) and Science, She Loves Me (Banff Centre Press 2011).

Communicating science couldn't be more important—and it's still hard to do well. Why not learn from the best?

The need is greater than ever to engage mainstream audiences in science. Goodness knows, the science community has been aware of this for decades. Why is it so hard to do?

Beakerhead science communications programs help you bust through real or perceived barriers that may be keeping your science stories secret!

Whether you are interested in science or communications, this day-long experience will open your eyes to ways to engage new audiences. We are as empirical about communications as we are about science – with a huge dose of creativity added to the mix.

Science Communications Workshop Agenda

9:00 am – 9:30 pm   Audience First 9:30 am – 10:00 am   Getting Creative 10:30 – 12:00 pm   Build a Better Mousetrap 1:00 – 3:00 pm   Personalizing the Impersonal Working individually on your 75-word opening Working groups of 5 to read and discuss Discussion: What have we learned? Q&A 3:00 – 5:00 pm   Working with the Media

Learn more...

Registration Fee: $25.00
Prices are plus tax and applicable service fees.
Attendees can receive refunds up to 30 days prior to the event date.

REGISTER NOW
Supported by:
Province of Nova ScotiaClearwaterBell
 
Tuesday, November 6
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Halifax Convention Centre

Science Slam

Scheduled for the evening of Tuesday, November 6 at the Halifax Convention Centre, science slam is a scientific speaker session where presenters discuss their own scientific research work in a five minute period - in front of a non-expert audience. This event is open to the general public—we encourage all to attend. The focus lies on knowledge translation that teaches current science to a diverse audience in an entertaining way. Presentations will be judged by the audience.

This event will showcase scientists, researchers, and students as they battle to communicate science. Presenters will be selected from all walks of science. Judges will be a mashup of scientists from Nova Scotia’s top science institutions and volunteers from the general public.

Contestants can present on any science topic, but cannot use a projector or slides. They are judged not on their data and methods, but on their ability to communicate science in an engaging, entertaining, and concise way. This event will combine science communication and audience participation in an effective and engaging way.

While there is no cost to attend the event, space is limited and only those with tickets will be admitted.

REGISTER NOW
Supported by:
Royal Bank of Canada

Post-Secondary events were last updated:
October 29, 2018.

Follow us on Twitter

@STEMFestHFX18
 

Public Events

 
Saturday, November 3, 2018
1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Halifax Convention Centre

STEMFest Engineering Olympics

Open to students in grades 4 to 9

The STEMFest Engineering Olympics, presented by Engineers Nova Scotia, is an interactive engineering event for students in grades 4 to 9. Students are given a series of problem-solving challenges that demonstrate the fun side of engineering, and allow students to see first-hand how this field impacts our everyday lives.

The STEMFest Engineering Olympics provides students the opportunity to cover many areas of engineering study while learning to work and interact within a group. Teams will use their skills and innovative ideas to develop creative solutions to various challenges throughout the afternoon. All challenges have been coordinated by Engineers Nova Scotia.

Each team consists of four to six students and one coach (teacher/chaperone/parent). Each team must have a coach who supports them at the event. Participants will register in divisions I or II, depending on their grade. Grades 4-6 students will be in division I and grades 7-9 students will be in division II. Teams will be given a score for each challenge. Each division will have bronze, silver, and gold recognition.

Spectators are welcome. Bring someone to watch and cheer for your team. Space is limited, and is available on a first come, first served bases. Cost to register is $20 per team. If cost is an issue please .

REGISTER NOW
Presented by
Engineers Nova ScotiaOTCNS
 
Saturday, November 3, 2018
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Halifax Convention Centre

Public Talk with Jay Ingram

Can we Live 200 Years?

That question would have made no sense 25 years ago but today is different. The extraordinary and continuing rise in human life expectancy has scientists thinking, for the first time really, of ways to push through the boundaries to a human life.

There are controversies: could we routinely live beyond 120? Do we know enough about aging in other species to get a grip on the crucial processes? Could we really achieve what the optimists call: escape velocity for longevity?”

It is a crucial time for understanding aging, and perhaps overcoming it.

Jay Ingram

Jay Ingram was co-host of Daily Planet, the hour-long prime-time science program on Discovery Channel, for 16 years and helped launch and design the show. Prior to that he hosted CBC’s Quirks and Quarks for 12 years, freelanced for CBC’s Morningside, and hosted two CBC radio documentary series. He was contributing editor to Owl magazine for five years, he wrote a weekly science column in The Toronto Star for 12 years, and currently writes a column for Canadian Wildlife.

While there is no cost to attend the event, space is limited and only those with tickets will be admitted.

REGISTER NOW
Supported by
MSVU
 
Monday, November 5, 2018
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Halifax Convention Centre

An Interview with Marie Curie
A short film by Jo Napier
Premiere Screening prior to Dream Big

Halifax producer and artist, Jo Napier has created a series of theatrical presentations which give us a glimpse of women’s contributions in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math throughout history. “An Interview with Marie Curie” is the first in her series of Great Women of STEM dramatizations. This short film tells the story of Marie Curie’s life and contributions in a dramatized interview with well known CBC broadcaster, Norma Lee MacLeod.

Dream Big: Engineering our World

Movie Night

Who will build the amazing future of our human race? That question sparks a giant-screen adventure unlike any other in Dream Big: Engineering Our World, an epically fun tour of inspiration through the visionary advances made by yesterday’s, today’s—and most thrillingly of all, tomorrow’s—engineers.

Engineering: upon first consideration, it might not seem the stuff of grand cinematic adventure. But could engineering secretly be an exciting, creative, heroic realm where the optimists of today are creating the life-saving, world-altering marvels that will make for a safer, more connected, more equal and even more awe-inspiring tomorrow?

With an eclectic, stereotype-bursting engineer cast, the huge story told by Dream Big answers that question with a resoundingly “yes” using a series of surprising human stories to expose the hidden world behind the most exciting inventions and structures across the world. It is not only a journey through engineering’s greatest wonders, but equally a tale of human grit, aspiration, compassion and the triumph of human ingenuity over life’s greatest challenges.

While there is no cost to attend the event, space is limited and only those with tickets will be admitted.

REGISTER NOW
Supported by:
Engineers Nova Scotia
 
Monday, November 5, 2018
7:30 pm
Room C3, Convention Hall Level, Halifax Convention Centre

NSIS Lecture

Zombies in the Natural World: How a Parasitic Wasp Hijacks the Brain of its Caterpillar Host

Speaker: Dr. Shelley Adamo, Professor,
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University

Some parasites can control their hosts behaviour. This take-over is best understood in insects (the real zombies). In these systems, parasites typically exploit communication links between the body and brain to produce behaviour favourable to the parasite.

Free event.

 
Tuesday, November 6, 2018
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Halifax Convention Centre

Science Slam

Scheduled for the evening of Tuesday, November 6 at the Halifax Convention Centre, science slam is a scientific speaker session where presenters discuss their own scientific research work in a five minute period - in front of a non-expert audience. This event is open to the general public—we encourage all to attend. The focus lies on knowledge translation that teaches current science to a diverse audience in an entertaining way. Presentations will be judged by the audience.

This event will showcase scientists, researchers, and students as they battle to communicate science. Presenters will be selected from all walks of science. Judges will be a mashup of scientists from Nova Scotia’s top science institutions and volunteers from the general public.

Contestants can present on any science topic, but cannot use a projector or slides. They are judged not on their data and methods, but on their ability to communicate science in an engaging, entertaining, and concise way. This event will combine science communication and audience participation in an effective and engaging way.

While there is no cost to attend the event, space is limited and only those with tickets will be admitted.

REGISTER NOW
Supported by:
Royal Bank of Canada
 
Friday, November 9, 2018
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Halifax Convention Centre

2018 Dan MacLennan Lecture: Dr. Jason Kalirai, Space Telescope Science Institute

The 2018 Dan MacLennan Memorial Lecture in Astronomy will be the fourth in the annual series of lectures that has featured Nobel prize winners. This lecture is endowed by the family of the late Dan MacLennan, a life-long learner and one-time Saint Mary's student.

While there is no cost to attend the event, space is limited and only those with tickets will be admitted.

MORE INFORMATION AND TICKETS

Public events were last updated:
November 1, 2018.

hcc
 
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Halifax Convention Centre

Industry Day
Driving Your Digital Advantage

The STEMFest Industry Day will be held Wednesday November 7 at the Halifax Convention Centre.

This one-day conference will feature keynote speakers and panelists who will share their vision of the importance and diversity of STEM. Presentations will focus on such topics as: Big Data and AI, design thinking and disruption, cyber-security and blockchain, smart cities and diversified workplaces. The conference will be supported by the top online casinos .

 

Schedule at a Glance

This schedule is always being updated; check back often.

Friday, November 2, 2018
DAY

Canadian Celebration of Women in Computing Conference

Saturday, November 3, 2018
DAY

Canadian Celebration of Women in Computing Conference

9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Science Communication Workshop

Read more

1:00 pm – 5:00 pm

STEMFest Engineering Olympics

Read more

EVENING
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Jay Ingram Public Talk

Read more

Sunday, November 4, 2018
DAY
9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Science Communication Workshop

Read more

Monday, November 5, 2018
DAY

Youth Engagement Event

EVENING
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Dream Big Movie Night

Read more

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

The Great Debate: Space vs Frontier

Read more...

7:30 pm

NSIS Lecture
Zombies in the Natural World

Read more

Tuesday, November 6, 2018
DAY

Youth Engagement Event

Launch of National Skills and Technology Week

EVENING
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Science Slam

Read more

7:00 pm

Earthline Tattoo Collective - Artist Talk presented by IOTA
Halifax Central Library

Read more...

Wednesday, November 7, 2018
DAY

Youth Engagement Event

9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Industry Day:
Driving Your Digital Advantage

Read more

BioPort Conference

Thursday, November 8, 2018
DAY

Youth Engagement Event

BioPort Conference

Friday, November 9, 2018
DAY

Youth Engagement Event

12:00 pm – 1:30 pm

WhiteFeather Hunter’s Artist Talk presented by IOTA

Read more...

EVENING
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

2018 Dan MacLennan Lecture:
Dr. Jason Kalirai, Space Telescope Science Institute

Read more

This schedule was updated:
October 30, 2018.

 

Partner Events

 
November 2 – 3, 2018

CAN-CWiC

Read more
 
November 5, 2018 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

The Great Debate: Space vs Frontier

Read more
 
November 6, 2018

Skills Canada Nova Scotia

Read more
 
November 7 – 8, 2018

BioPort Conference

Read more
 
November 9, 2018 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM

WhiteFeather Hunter's Artist Talk

Read more

Partner events were last updated:
October 30, 2018.

 

Partnership Opportunities

Our model for partnership is as unique as the program, and our goal is to connect with organizations and custom design an approach to sponsorship that puts your organization in front of the most relevant of our audiences. We would welcome a chance to talk about the program and a possible fit for your organization.

Visionary Partners

Supporting Partners

 

Call for Volunteers

Call for Volunteers is now CLOSED.
We are excited about STEMFest 2018 and all the events that will make up this week-long event. We are delighted to announce we have achieved our requirements for volunteers.
We hope you will plan to attend the events.

STEMFest 2018

Supported/represented by:

Dalhousie University Discovery Centre Digital Nova Scotia Engineers Nova Scotia Events East/Halifax Convention Centre Institute for Ocean Research Enterprise IOTA

Mount Saint Vincent University Nova Scotia Community College Nova Scotia Department of Education & Early Childhood Development Saint Mary’s University Science Atlantic WISE Atlantic

© STEMFest 2018