Close to 700 aspiring young scientists and community members discovered how fun science can be during Science Rendezvous 2016, hosted May 7 at Durham College (DC) and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology’s (UOIT) shared Oshawa campus.

Event highlights included:

• A chance to wear a virtual reality headset with an attached motion sensing device to experience how we will interact with computers and the Internet in the future.
• Cool catapult challenges.
• Experiments – Candy Bombs, Dry Ice Rainbows, Glowing Crystals, Magic Monster Slime
• A tour of ACE, a performance-testing facility featuring one of the largest and most sophisticated climatic wind tunnels on the planet.
• Creating a cloud in the bottle with the help of a bicycle pump and a little bit of rubbing alcohol.

Other exciting, hands-on events included INVENTours and Science Cavalcade; Science Jeopardy; mini-workshops; the opportunity to explore LEGO Robotics and help solve the Graffiti Mystery in the Forensic Fun Zone; and milkweed planting.

This year’s activities included Mission: Monarch Migration, which highlighted the important role milkweed plants play in the transformation of the monarch caterpillar into an adult butterfly.

Participants planted 50 milkweed plants on campus to conserve the butterflies’ habitat, and they learned how to plant their own butterfly/pollinator gardens at home to attract butterflies. Science Rendezvous organizers handed out 150 milkweed plants for participants to add to their own gardens. They have also set up a Mission: Monarch Migration Facebook page, where participants can:

• Share photos of their growing plants and the monarchs they attract.
• View photos showing the growth progress of the milkweed plants on campus.
• Find additional information about monarch butterflies.

The day concluded with a game of Science Jeopardy, where participants answered questions based on the knowledge they gained throughout the day by visiting the different exhibits.

Science Rendezvous is a free, all-day event that promotes science awareness for all ages. It is part of the nationwide Science Rendezvous celebration held at post-secondary institutions across Canada.