Grants and Contributions

The H.R. MacMillan Space Centre will develop Back to the Moon – a program that highlights moon exploration and Canadian scientific contributions to astronomy and space exploration. Goals of the program include providing youth, families, and educators hands-on experiences and engagement with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through the context of space science. Back to the Moon will reach out to underserved and underrepresented youth and families through accessible and inclusive educational programs. It will also connect youth and educators with examples of diverse scientists in the space sector.

This project aims to build an educational access program for students in Grades seven through to Grade 12, by intentionally engaging high schools that have a diverse student population, who traditionally don’t have access to these types of experiences. This project will engage over 1800 youth over the year, with each student participating in roughly 12 hours of space-themed content. The series of activities designed by the Connections team focus on many past and future Canadian space achievements such as the Canadarm, Artemis, and the Lunar Gateway. Participating students will get to create their versions of these iconic spacecrafts and through those hands-on experiences, gain a better understanding of just how much time, effort, and resources are put into these missions.

The project aims to create a classroom ready teacher resource for Grades six to eight Science & Technology teachers. The teacher resource will excite all learners to discover the social, economic and environmental impact of Canadian space technology and develop scientific and technological literacies through STEM experiences. Three interdisciplinary activities will be created to build student skills in engineering design, scientific research, scientific experimentation, and coding. The activities will engage students in scientific concepts in biology, chemistry, physics and earth & space sciences connected to the Ontario Science & Technology curriculum.

In this series, the participants will learn how the cutting edge of robotic technology is leading the way in the current era of space exploration, and how this technology will shape everyday life here on earth.

A partnership between SuperNOVA at Dalhousie University (SuperNOVA), GALAXIA Mission Systems (GALAXIA), and Dalhousie Space Systems Lab (DSS), ATLAS (ATLantic Academy of Space), is an educational initiative that will introduce Atlantic Canadian high school students to space exploration, artificial intelligence (AI), engineering and technology through an intensive two-week CubeSat satellite design program (Summer Academy) at Dalhousie University. ATLAS will work towards gender parity and a target of 50% Indigenous and Black student enrollment, collaborating with youth-serving organizations to promote the opportunity.

The objective of the project is to create Mars and Moon-themed learning modules as a resource for primary school teachers throughout Canada who intend to inspire their students to pursue careers in STEM fields.

The project aims to create hands-on learning opportunities including participating in robotics lessons, taking part in a young astronaut camps in the communities and other activities related to space (astronomy, coding).

The main objective of the project is to “bring” the night sky to local schools and community events. To enhance this experience, the project will create customized programming with the following awareness objectives: 1) Educate youth and promote Canadian space missions, space science and technologies, with a particular emphasis on CSA Moon exploration initiatives, the Lunar Gateway Station, the Artemis II mission, and the discoveries arising from the JWST and 2) Introduce youth to Indigenous Moon and star-lore teachings, pairing First Nations night sky knowledge with that of western astronomy.

Camp Artemis – Join the Moon Mission boot camp will inspire youth to become the next generation of explorers by increasing their interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). The interactive activities of the boot camp will allow Indigenous students to see how a career in STEM can allow them to play a role in Canada’s space program. Saskatchewan Polytechnic will create a one-day STEM, and space science and technology boot camp for Indigenous Youth, ages 12 to 18. Each boot camp has been designed with input from Indigenous communities to inspire and engage Indigenous learners to pursue STEM and space-related studies and careers. The boot camp will also be offered through our Surge micro credential platform, with the student receiving a micro credential digital badge.

The Q-AISES Rocket Team is an engineering design team operating out of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. It is comprised of Indigenous student members of the Queen's chapter of AISES (American Indian Science and Engineering Society), which is a broader international organization that encourages and supports Indigenous engagement with study and careers in STEM fields. The Q-AISES team is the only Canadian team to be invited to participate in an annual high-powered rocket engineering design competition called First Nations Launch, which is run by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States as part of their Artemis Student Challenges program.