Indigenous science campers look to the stars

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This article was published 31/07/2019 (2262 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Children explored infinity and beyond in a pop-up planetarium Wednesday at the University of Winnipeg’s Indigenous science, technology, engineering arts and mathematics camp.

Inside an inflatable tent, images of the night sky were projected on the dome-shaped ceiling, mesmerizing the approximately 30 children in attendance.

The four-week-long STEAM camp allows children from grades 1 to 6 to participate in educational activities combined with Indigenous knowledge.

Angeline Nelson, director of community learning and engagement at the Wii Chiiwaakanak Learning Centre, which operates the camp, said the pop-up planetarium also gives children the opportunity to hear about Cree constellation stories.

“For most of them, they are Indigenous or from the area. So to have them be proud of that and where they come from, too, because their people have carried this knowledge for a long time,” Nelson said.

The camp aims to recruit children living in the inner city who may not have the means to otherwise attend educational camps.

“This camp is completely free, we provide them food, all of the activities are taken care of. You know, it’s just really important to have them be a part of something over the summer. Part of this camp also addresses summer learning loss and it’s really important to sharpen their skills over the summer so they can be prepared when the go back to school,” Nelson said.

The camp recently secured funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, to the tune of $75,000 over three years, which will be used to enhance programming.

Rockford McKay, science facilitator for the Manitoba First Nations School System, gathered the children in the pop-up planetarium and shared knowledge of identifying constellations, their relation to the four seasons, and creation stories.

McKay said regardless of age, many people don’t realize where these stories come from.

“Indigenous knowledge shows our students that we understood a lot of the knowledge. We had our own knowledge, as well. We had our own inventions. We were scientists. We were engineers, so it’s important for our students to know that it wasn’t always Galileo in Europe, or whoever, it was our people, as well,” McKay said.

“It’s much easier for them to realize, ‘Hey I can do these things, too.'”

Sophia Montano, 8, said she enjoyed the unique experience Wednesday.

“I really like that everybody is learning and that we are learning about different things,” she said. “I think it was really good to learn about the sky and I like looking at the sky. It was really beautiful.”

The following days will include activities such as water teachings, coding, 3D design, and lacrosse.

nadya.pankiw@freepress.mb.ca