"In this 30-minute broadcast, students will explore the computational thinking skill of abstraction. Abstraction reduces how hard a problem or task is by focusing on what's important. We do that by deciding what the important information is and then removing all the unnecessary details. Abstraction is also used when we want to have one object or word stand for an action."

The teacher's guide is available to download from this link as well.

Copy and paste this address into your browser for extension and other related activities: https://rise.articulate.com/share/NYqSLf5zqDnd1aYL9apuZ2lr72r7E7RP#/

Should you encounter any technical difficulties, please e-mail Network Services at the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education at stans@gov.sk.ca or call 1-866-933-8333.

As part of our reporting process, Let's Talk Science is required to report on participation and impact of our programs. If you could please take a moment to complete the following short survey with your students, it would be greatly appreciated. To access the survey, please visit : https://ccyouth.questionpro.ca/.

"Participating classes will explore how indoor environmental conditions influence human health, and identify the best conditions for healthy living. This knowledge is important not only on Earth, but also on the International Space Station (ISS), the future Lunar Gateway, and as long-duration space travel progresses, maybe even on Mars!"

"Students and educators will study the key environmental conditions that are monitored and managed to keep astronauts healthy on the ISS. Students will measure environmental conditions such as temperature, CO2, and relative humidity in their classroom and submit the data to a national database. After developing their understanding of optimal ranges, and collecting data on their current environment, students will make a plan for classroom environmental improvement. The national Living Space database allows students to compare their classroom data with information from other participating classrooms in Canada as well as data from the ISS!"

Join the project on this page!

Do you want your class to be part of Canada’s Space program?

With the Lunar Rover Research Challenge, students could control a Canadensys rover in a mock-lunar environment by winning this low-prep, high-impact competition. Canadensys recently received a contract from the Canadian Space Agency to send a rover to the moon as early as 2026.

You can do the project in 3-4 hours for a classroom experience or 6+ hours to compete.

Game-based!

Win the chance for your class to operate a Lunar Rover in a simulated mission. There will be Canadian rovers on the Moon by the end of this decade. Let’s Talk Science, Canadensys Aerospace, and Avalon Space have teamed up to give Canadian youth in Grades 6-9 the opportunity to learn about rover technology and how to plan missions on the Moon.

The Lunar Rover Research Challenge invites teams of students to pitch their mission plans for the chance to remotely operate a Canadensys rover in a lunar-like environment.

Welcome to the Lunar Rover Research Challenge!

The challenge is for students to design a rover mission to find frozen water at the South Pole of the Moon. The activity is structured as a collaborative board game or digital game where students are guided through the design process. They equip their rover with scientific instruments, choose a target, then determine where to take measurements.

The experience is designed around 5 lessons:

1: Learn about Canada’s role in the upcoming lunar missions and the benefits of space exploration to life on Earth
2: Review the mission brief and learn how to plan a rover mission on the Moon
3: Plan the mission using an iterative design process scaffolded as a collaborative board game
4: Communicate ideas and prepare for submission
5: Reflect on the team’s experience and the impact of space exploration on society

Set in the context of space exploration, this project develops students’ design thinking, teamwork, and communication skills. Students must design their research mission by considering pros and cons, and weighing risks and rewards.

This challenge can be completed without a submission to the competition.

This site offers videos, resources and activities from our Let's Talk Science Outreach sites across Canada!

Choose from Educational Videos, Resources and Activities for K-3, 4-6, 7-12.

"Join us this summer, for short daily activities and a new theme each week. These activities are hands-on and designed to be done at home, outside, or with family and friends using easy-to-find materials."

REGISTER NOW

"When you sign up, you'll receive an e-mail each day featuring a new hands-on STEM activity. There are no live sessions to join, so you can complete the activities whenever is most convenient for you. Material lists will be shared with you at the start of your discovery week."

Starts July 15th - each week has a theme
Themes: Chemistry, Climate, Biology, Physics, Innovation, Space

Canadian Kindergarten through Grade 12 Educators – Investigate the effects of outer space on seed germination with your class. Tomatosphere™ is a hands-on program that builds scientific inquiry and experimentation skills.

Tomatosphere™ offers an excellent opportunity to have your students think and act like scientists as they practice their inquiry skills and develop understandings of the nature of science and the concept of a fair test.

In the spring, participating classrooms receive two packages of tomato seeds. One package contains seeds sent into space or treated in space-simulated conditions. The other contains untreated "control" seeds. Students plant the seeds and conduct experiments to explore the effects of the space environment on the germination of tomatoes. Through Tomatosphere™, students learn how to conduct a scientific experiment and compare the number of seeds that germinate for the two groups of seeds.

While completing the Tomatosphere™ program, students investigate how to supply space exploration missions with life-support requirements—food, water, oxygen and a way to consume the carbon dioxide exhaled by astronauts—while also discussing the many issues and research involved in space exploration.

Teachers can expand on the basic Tomatosphere™ Seed Investigation by connecting it to studies of plants, space, nutrition, math or the environment, depending on grade and curriculum.

Essential Skills are the skills that people need for work, learning and life. These skills are used in the community and the workplace. They are used in different forms and at different levels of complexity depending on the activity. These skills provide the foundation for learning all other skills and enable people to better prepare for, get and keep a job. These skills help workers adapt to, and succeed in, changing workplaces. For further explanation of essential skills, refer to http://skillscompetencescanada.com/en/essential-skills/what-are-the-nine-essential-skills/.