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Sci-Comm

Sci-Comm

Boss battles for science- Talking with the creators of ‘Pluto’s Revenge’

Pluto's Revenge Opening Screen

Credit: Angry Squid Games

ROM for the Holidays is in full swing at the Royal Ontario Museum and this year’s theme is “Escape from Planet ROM”. With a prototype Mars rover from the Canadian Space Agency, a star lab, and earthbound aliens there’s something for everyone. But no talk of space exploration is complete without bringing up video games. The ROM game arcade is back and this year the Holiday Space Arcade features five fun space-filled games.

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Sci-Comm

Dinosaurs at THEMUSEUM- Visit them before they’re gone

Dinosaurs: The Edge of Extinction has been open at THEMUSEUM since I started working, but I only just got a chance go through the exhibition from top to bottom.

The exhibition opened this March and apparently did very well over the summer. Not surprising. Since I’ve been working the floors, it’s always funny how ecstatic the children get when an adult in the group announces that they’re all going to the third floor to the dinosaurs. Everyone loves dinosaurs, right? Continue Reading

Sci-Comm

The Making of ‘Light Illuminated’

Radio. Photography. Microwaves. Television. The Internet. What do these things have in common? They’re all forms of ‘light-based’ technology. Without light and its basic properties we wouldn’t have these and many other modern tools. That said, without light and its basic properties we probably wouldn’t exist either. Without the Sun, what would heat up our planet? What would provide light for the photosynthesizing organisms that form the base of most of our planet’s food webs?

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The word wall at the end of the exhibition highlights the important ways that light is used in our everyday lives. Photo credit: Brent Wettlaufer/THEMUSEUM

Light is necessary. To celebrate light and light-based technologies the UN has designated 2015 the International Year of Light. In honour of the occasion, THEMUSEUM, located in downtown Kitchener, is hosting an exhibition called Light Illuminated.

 

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S.T.E.M. Sci-Comm

Striving for Connectivity

A friend of mine is providing career counseling as I slog through the job market like a salmon struggling upstream. She’s my “fish ladder” to help me get around obstacles.

I realize that the analogy breaks down around the end because I’m not going to croak from fatigue once I land a job. But it’s hard, and a feat of endurance, and there are lots of us floundering through the current. I can do it, though. I’m cool. I’ve got skills. I’m hireable. But in the meantime, I’m going to write.

This floundering seems to be a common theme with anyone I talk to about getting a job. I managed to push through my Ph.D. and completed successfully, but I am, for now, done with academia. Lately, I’ve been curious about the deterrents and obstacles other people of color face that keep them from pursuing STEM careers.  A report released today addresses this very question. Continue Reading