Hackathon for Science Education

Pueblo Science and the Impact Centre invite you to take part in the inaugural Hackathon for Science Education taking place September 19-20 at the University of Toronto (Physics Study Lounge, 60 St. George Street, Toronto). The event will bring together 100 innovative students with scientists, engineers and educators as mentors. The students and mentors will work for 20 hours (with an overnight break) to create kits that will teach aspects of robotics to high school students in low-resource communities around the world.

The event will provide a fun and engaging opportunity for University of Toronto alumni and students to become leaders, builders and innovators as well as to make an impact on education around the world. The kits developed during this hackathon will enable teachers to introduce hands-on science and engineering experiences into their classrooms using robotics as the backdrop and improve their students’ attitudes towards STEM learning, concept uptake and problem solving.

Students in groups of 3-5 will participate in prototyping science kits that are engaging, curriculum-relevant and have a robotics theme. Teachers’ guides will also be written up to instruct educators on how to construct the kits and how to teach it. Mentors knowledgeable in science and technology, education or resources available in remote communities will be providing input to all teams. The projects will be presented in front of an expert judging panel on Sunday afternoon.

You need to be 18 years of age or older AND a current student, postdoctoral fellow, or recent graduate (max. 18 months since graduation) of the University of Toronto to be eligible to participate as a competitor in our Hackathon. You don’t have to have an expertise in robotics. If you’re passionate about changing how STEM is being taught in low-resource communities around the world, please join us!

We welcome event volunteers who are 18 years of age or older! If you are interested in volunteering, send us an email at hackathon@puebloscience.org.

Participants must sign up as teams of 3-5 members. All team members must sign up individually and you will specify your team members on your application.

If you do not have a team of 3-5, send us an email at hackathon@puebloscience.org and we will try to match you up with teammates.

Registration opens on August 13 and closes September 12.

Thanks to our generous sponsors, the Hackathon for Science Education is a FREE event. All food and resources for the entire event will be provided free of charge.

However, a $20 deposit per competitor is required (which will be returned upon the completion of the hackathon). The deposit is to ensure that we do not waste material and resources. You may cancel your registration and receive a return of the $20 deposit until 11:59 pm ET on September 16, 2020.

All work must be done at the event, we will reveal the details of the specific topic in robotics on day 1 of the event. All projects with prior work done will be eliminated from judging. We will provide you with a prepaid credit card that you can use to buy all (and only) the material that you need to prototype your project. Please bring your own laptop to work on the science kit manual, presentation and to code if your project needs it.

If you have any other questions, feel free to send us a message at hackathon@puebloscience.org or message us on Facebook here: /puebloscience.

In addition, winning projects will be used during Pueblo Science’s outreach events in malls and public spaces in the GTA such as Dufferin Mall  in 2020. Kits that are suitable in the Philippines, Thailand, Guyana and Jamaica will be used to train 1,000 teachers in 2020. Your names will be included as authors in the workshop manuals!

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