High school students from northern B.C. who are part of the online learning EBUS Academy are about to take their education to the next level at the University of Northern British Columbia.
They are 16 students enrolled in Science 11 or Science 12 in both the EBUS Academy and regular School District 91 classes will be at UNBC’s campus in Prince George today until Friday, May 22-24 where they’ll participate in three full days of learning and hands-on science labs in the University’s labs. They’ll also have the opportunity to learn more about research at UNBC and student life on campus.
The students are either full-time EBUS students, School District 91 students or cross-enrolled (they are taking one or more courses with EBUS).
“It’s a great opportunity for UNBC to engage with a population of online high school students through both a medium they’re familiar with (online web chats with students and faculty researchers at UNBC), and to also add a physical, real lab experience within the top-notch research and lab facilities that the University has to offer,” says Dennis Stark, UNBC’s Interim Manager of Student Recruitment. “The field trip will also give them an experience of university life staying on-campus and participating in other activities while here.”
During the field trip at UNBC, the high school students will participate in hands-on chemistry and biology labs; tour the Northern Analytical Lab Services lab; tour campus and meet current UNBC students and science faculty; attend a first-year lecture; hike through the Forests For the World; attend a cinema night along with fun, team-building activities and more.
In its first year, the EBUS pre-science program from Jan. 29 to June 19 offers high school students an opportunity to take Biology 11 and/or Chemistry 11 and access to enriched learning opportunities at UNBC.
Those enhanced learning opportunities involved webinars and science talks with UNBC researchers. They included: Kristen Kieta, a PhD Natural Resources and Environmental Science student who presented her research on tracing fine-grained sediment in the Nechako River watershed.
UNBC President Dr. Daniel Weeks presented his research in psychology that explores the links between perception and action and some of the factors that influence the decisions we make.
Tsatia Adzich, a Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies presented her qualitative research on negotiating Indigenous Women’s Urban Identities in Siberia.
“The intention of the program was to offer students in the North an option to complete a Science 11 or 12 course over the semester with enriched learning opportunities, specifically exposure to the wide variety of post-secondary options that exist in science,” said Megan Boniface, the Vice-Principal at the EBUS Academy.
“The series of science talks have been very well received by students and will we will continue to ensure that not only EBUS students but all School District 91 students have access to participating in them.”