At Science Rendezvous Kingston, you will get to do fun STEM activities, experiments, and chat with lots of scientists! To learn more about our booths, explore the following list:
Indoor arena
(main bowl)
You are invited to learn about your brain by examining models of the human brain and by trying special activities that show us how the brain works. Visitors can also see how specialized technology helps us to help our patients with brain tumours.
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The Cardiovascular Imaging Network at łÉČË´óƬ (CINQ) is thrilled to be back to Science Rendezvous! Come to visit us and use ultrasound and human anatomy specimens to investigate the human heart and blood vessels. Take home your own origami heart to show your friends and family.
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Our booth is a mobile lab where you can learn about how technology helps answer important questions in medicine. Our booth will feature microscopes where you can look close up at tissues, a mini-CT scanner where you can see the insides of a model, and a genomics activity where you can align DNA sequences.
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Our booth will highlight how the heart and lungs work – separately and together – to support our bodies during rest, sleep, and exercise. The booth will be hosted by faculty and trainees from the Departments of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences and Medicine and will contain displays, demos, and games.
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Integrative Cardiopulmonary Physiology Lab
Biomedical engineering uses everyday plastics and materials to design medical devices or to grow tissue. Come visit our booth learn how materials can be used to support cells to grow new tissue and how important blood vessels are to this process and others.
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Come hear stories of resilience during hard times in the form of a photovoice exhibition! Photovoice uses pictures taken by research participants to tell stories about their experience. In this project, Families Building Healthy Communities, you will hear from families who have faced hard times & learn what helped them be resilient during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Dive into the world of movement and become part of an adventure: explore skeletons and play a 'search and find' game with skeleton models. Test your strength, balance and coordination. Then, see how technology can help children with disabilities to play, communicate using speech-generating devices, and control computers with eyes.
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Breathing comes naturally to us all. It is an automatic response in our body that we don’t often think about or pay attention to. It is when we can’t breathe or are struggling to breathe that we understand the importance of that automatic function, and the medical innovations that help us to….just breathe. Explore the evolution of the ventilator with the Museum of Health Care! Discover how our lungs work and how ventilators have evolved over the centuries. This booth will take your breath away!
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Learn about 3D imaging and how laser light can tell us the shape, size, geometry, and textures of physical objects. Learn why this system is used for accuracy and precision in manufacturing, and then take a very close look at everyday objects like coins and keys to see the incredible detail made possible by this technology.
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Learn how science unlocks the secrets of art, telling us when and where works of art were made and how best to conserve and preserve them.
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Art Conservation Program, Department of Art History & Art Conservation
Learn how to make invisible ink from red cabbage, “elephant toothpaste”, and artificial snow. Watch an eye-popping demonstration of a fire tornado and see how “flash freezing” happens with liquid nitrogen. You’ll learn about chemistry and scientific principles in a fun and interactive way!
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Try our amazing penny experiment and see how we can stop corrosion; try your hand at building a LEGO model of a microprocessor; and see how UV light can make cells light up! You’ll be amazed by all you will learn about the science and technology of metal coatings and how they can benefit society from transportation and construction to green energy, microelectronics, and cancer treatment.
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Welcome to the exciting world of physics! From floating on air to the motion of magnets, our hands-on activities allow you to explore some fun aspects of our physical environment and see that there is more to the Universe than meets the eye!
* This research group will have a satellite booth outside on The Tragically Hip Way.
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Department of Physics, Engineering Physics & Astronomy
The Queen's Observatory
Research Casting International (RCI), located in Trenton, Ontario, is one of the world's largest providers of Museum Technical Services and is dedicated to the restoration and preservation of the world’s most valuable paleontological specimens and artifacts. RCI conservators are experienced in handling, preparing and preserving skeletal elements from existing armature, plaster jackets, matrix, or plaques. They are knowledgeable in preventive conservation measures and have collaborated with museums on an international level. This year, RCI is thrilled to be bringing a life-size orca (killer whale) skeleton replica.
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Anyone with an idea can be an inventor! The Great Canadian Invention Circus is an informative, inspiring and engaging show about Canadian inventors. The show ties the history of Canada’s creative thinkers to the present world of makers and the new tools readily available to everyone. In a delightful mashup between circus and invention, students see how microcontrollers can be combined with juggling, how plate spinning becomes a dish drying invention and how electric unicycles are part of the new world we live in. Important messages about not giving up and looking at problems creatively are key elements in the show.
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What do you get when four award-winning children’s authors combine forces? A tsunami of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) exploration! Visitors to our booth will get a behind-the-scenes look at how authors create captivating nonfiction out of cutting-edge science. From evolutionary innovations to wearable technology, from the depths of the ocean to the expanses of outer space, these authors have a STEAM story for every family.
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Learn about the Science of Psychology! Learn some of the methods that psychological scientists use to study child and adolescent learning and development. Play a fun game in which young children can develop and test hypotheses. Older children and teens can experiment with methods used to study emotions. Very young children will be able to engage with our colouring pages and puzzles depicting the human brain.
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Come and learn about the future of construction using 3D printing technology. Observe firsthand the live printing of a scaled-down model home in plastic to see how technology can “print” a home. Touch samples of 3D-printed concrete walls and watch videos documenting the actual printing of real houses in various locations across Canada.
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Check out the Human Body in Motion Demonstrations, including an interactive demonstration of how muscles move limbs and how changes in mechanical advantage of the muscles affect them. Try to arrange 3D printed models of the human bones correctly, interact with our motion capture system, and delve deeper into understanding the intricate mechanics of your body's movement!
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Visitors will be able to play the video games the students at Bayridge Secondary School have created from Scratch!
* This group will have a satellite booth at the Sensory Friendly Science Zone (Level 300).
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Ingenuity Labs invites you to meet our robots, including a robotic dog, and then learn about virtual reality while "feeling" virtual objects using haptic technology. Not sure what "haptic technology" is? Visit us to find out.
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Curiosity may be the driving force of engineering and innovation but you'll be the driver behind the robots featured by the Connections Outreach Team from the Smith School of Engineering.
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Come and see an operational rover and satellite while learning about the use for this technology in space. Visitors will also have the chance to learn about the engineering design process the team follows to iterate and improve the design.
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Check out our new 2024 competition robot. Try driving different types of robots and other interactive activities.
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Ever wondered what it takes to create a robot for team competitions? Step into the captivating world of robotics with FRC Team Machine Mavericks to delve into the heart of robotics and witness the intricate engineering process that goes into crafting a competitive robot. Ready to get your hands dirty? Step up to the challenge and try your hand at assembling components, programming autonomous movements, or try driving one of our training bots. Let your curiosity lead the way!
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Concourse
Drop by our booth to see the spectacular science kits and new science books that we have for local K to 12 teachers to borrow. The booth will feature the two newest kits in the Paleontology Teaching Kit series: Feet, Flight, and Flippers: An Introduction to Vertebrate Evolution (Grades 4-6) and Vertebrate Evolution: New Bodies That Colonized New Habitats (Grades 10 to 12), along with the previous two kits that used the fossils of ice age mammals to explore climate, habitat, and extinction. You can examine the fossil cast of a real saber-tooth tiger skull! You will also have the chance to color code a path for ozobots to navigate, and throughout the day our Library staff will have surprise button-making sessions when you can select an “innovation” button to have made just for you.
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Gear up for an exciting STEM adventure with the Kingston Frontenac Public Library! Spark the curiosity of budding engineers with interactive exhibits. Get hands-on with gears, building and deconstructing creations to boost fine motor and critical thinking skills. Borrow books from our on-site mobile library for continued learning at home!
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Learn about the geology of the Kingston area, what rocks are common around here, and what buildings in the Kingston area are made of.
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We are plant biologists and biotechnologists and we’ll have our stereomicroscope to examine plants and teach you why and how plants get sick! We’ll also have some at-home seed germination activities for you to take home.
* This research group will have a satellite booth at the Sensory Friendly Science Zone (Level 300).
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From the current day Nobel-winning SNOLAB, located 6800 feet underground, to the first astronomical observatory in Ontario, built in 1855 by citizens of Kingston awed by a solar eclipse, visitors will learn about select historical moments of innovation and invention at Queen’s University and in the City of Kingston through artifacts, photographs, and documents that will be on display.
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Visitors will be able to learn about plastic recycling, its challenges, and how our biotechnologies can help overcome these challenges. Visitors will have the opportunity to see mealworms eating plastic, bacteria with potential plastic degrading activities, and plastic degrading enzyme assays.
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The Department of Chemical Engineering invites scientists of all ages to come play at our booth with liquids, light, and living things! Interact with different fluids to see how they flow and stick. Watch chemical reactions happen right before your eyes, test the “glow” of household items, and find the link between math and chemistry with an orange juice experiment. Finally, magnify your vision at the biology table and use a microscope to identify plants, cells and more!
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The Human Mobility Research Lab will be demonstrating the current state-of-the-art in human motion capture technology and will even be collecting research data live! Help us understand human walking gait by stopping by and participating in our out-of-lab walking study using computer vision-based motion capture. All ages can participate, and it’s as simple as walking for one minute.
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We rarely are able to explore the life that lives beneath the water. Using underwater cameras and equipment, scientists can investigate the animals, plants, and insects that live in our local waterways. Join us to learn about some of those creatures and see some for yourself!
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Physical geographers study the processes that shape the environments in our world. In this display, we will demonstrate how atmospheric greenhouse gases and weather variables are measured and how we as scientists use this information to learn how human activity is re-shaping our world's climates.
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Visitors will conduct real-life inspired biological fieldwork known as capture, mark, and recapture to determine the population size of the common grey squirrel without actually counting all the individual squirrels.
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Visit out booth to learn about biohazard, radiation & chemical safety. Take home a souvenir from the PPE photo booth and try out our safety equipment.
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Learn how light bends and reflects when it encounters a material in its path and use this to navigate around dinosaurs in our laser maze. See how white light can be broken up into a beautiful rainbow of colours using a tool called a spectrometer. Discover how light actually “wiggles” as it travels and see how this can be used to make computer screens or sunglasses that make driving a car on a sunny day safer. Learn how we can trap light in super thin, clear cables called optical fibers and send information at lightspeed to homes several kilometers away so we can watch high definition movies instantly at the click of a button!
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The PEO Kingston Chapter booth will delight visitors through activities that explore biomimicry, a practice that learns from and mimics the strategies found in nature to solve human design challenges.
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Have you ever wondered what happens to the water you pour down the drain? The Contaminant of Emerging Concern - Research Excellence Network (CEC-REN) at Queen’s University is excited to reveal the BIG DARK SECRET of water! Focused on contaminants demanding urgent attention due to their impact on ecosystems and human health, CEC-REN's exhibit immerses visitors in interactive displays exploring various contaminants in water and their sources. We will have live demonstrations to provide insight into advanced analysis and monitoring techniques, while presentations showcase innovative solutions like eco-friendly technologies and novel remediation methods.
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The Contaminants of Emerging Concern - Research Excellence Network (CEC-REN)
Ontario Land Surveyors will facilitate student engagement in an augmented reality sandbox to demonstrate what surveyors measure and map, a total station land surveying instrument to demonstrate data collection, and a light detection and ranging sensor.
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W.A.F.F.L.E.S. Community Robotics is a local non-profit run by passionate volunteers and students (ages 4-18) eager to inspire others in STEM. Come and interact with robots big and small, built by local students. Take part in LEGO activities (make a craft with the help of a LEGO robot!) and see FIRST® robots in action.
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The Tragically Hip Way
(outdoor space)
Queen's Relectric will showcase a fully electric 1997 Jeep Wrangler TJ, created by our students throughout the 2023/24 school year. The booth will also feature a smaller electric vehicle for our visitors to drive!
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Come visit the Queen’s Baja SAE Team booth to learn more about our student-run engineering team that designs, builds, and races a small off-road vehicle each year. You will have the chance to build a balloon Baja of your own!
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Queen’s Baja SAE Team
Come check out a solar telescope and learn more about how citizen astronomers observe the Sun, the Moon, and planets!
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Say "Hello" to our living, local bees in their observation hives and learn why bees are important for the environment and food systems.
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Welcome to the exciting world of physics! From floating on air to the motion of magnets, our hands-on activities allow you to explore some fun aspects of our physical environment and see that there is more to the Universe than meets the eye!
* Also visit our main booth at the Indoor arena (main bowl).
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Department of Physics, Engineering Physics & Astronomy
The Queen's Observatory
See our Emergency Response Vehicle, our Prisoner Transport Vehicle and our Traffic Drone.
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Sensory Friendly Science Zone
(Level 300)
Children ages 4 to 13 can build, program and drive a few different robot types on small fields to learn about how robots operate and are controlled.
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Comet Tech Lancers - Calvin Park PS/LCVI Robotics Program
Visitors will be able to play the video games the students at Bayridge Secondary School have created from Scratch!
* Also visit our main booth at the Indoor arena (main bowl).
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Calling all engineers! Leonardo da Vinci needs help testing his prototype for a self-supporting bridge. Put on your thinking cap and see if you can build a miniature version of this 16th c. invention. Afterwards, test your mettle by climbing across a full-scale replica.
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See, touch, and learn about important minerals and how microscopy is used to study the Earth.
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Experience the beauty and diversity of Queen’s research by visiting the Art of Research photo exhibit. Showcasing winning images from the popular photo contest, the travelling exhibit highlights research happening across the university – from invisible science, unseen by the naked eye, to understanding the building blocks of the universe.
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Art of Research Contest, Vice-Principal University Relations
Learn about the science of wildlife rehabilitation and what it takes to heal local wildlife, and find out how you can keep wildlife like turtles and fish safe in our community.
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Learn about the ticks, tick-borne diseases, and invasive plants that are invading the Kingston region, why they matter, and what you can do about them.
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We are plant biologists and biotechnologists and we’ll have our stereomicroscope to examine plants and teach you why and how plants get sick. We’ll also have some at-home seed germination activities for you to take home.
* Also visit our main booth on the Concourse.
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Dig your own fossil from a sand box. What do you think it's hidden in there?
* Also visit our main booth at the Indoor arena (main bowl).
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The Queen’s Let’s Talk Science team is offering a range of creative make-and-take STEM activities for children of all ages in our Sensory Friendly Science Zone. We’ll have everything your child needs to colour individual works of art, solve mathemagical puzzles, make a coded bracelet, fly a hoop glider, write a secret message using invisible ink, and other fun activities!
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This is an 8-foot long wave tank equipped with a motorized paddle. Watch waves be generated and conduct experiments then place homes, walls, or trees on the synthetic beach and watch how the waves interact with them. Place rubber ducks on the waves and watch how they move. Are you surprised?
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