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April 2006 ISSUE

The Many Faces of Celebrating Innovation

APEGGA and members bring engineering and geoscience to students, companies and the general public during special week.

BY ALTHEA ADAMS
Public Relations Coordinator

 
 

Spirited Innovators
Above, at the APEGGA Peace Country Science Olympics a competitor attempts to separate residue from contaminated water with materials found in nature. Left, kick-off hosts Fluor work on their Pinocchio noses in the corporate challenge in Calgary. And below, Edmonton science olympics competitors work on a bridge of cards — which needed to be strong enough to hold up a full can of pop.

The Olympics returned to Alberta this February and March — the science olympics, that is. Once again, APEGGA members, students, teachers and the public were invited to celebrate National Engineering & Geoscience Week from Feb. 24 to March 5 by participating in a host of fun, science-related activities, including science olympics in five communities.

Celebrating Innovation, this year’s theme, recognizes the significant role that engineers, geologists and geophysicists play in every segment of the economy. It also acknowledges the way in which your technical and management expertise helps Alberta remain at the forefront of innovation in science and technology.

For the 11th straight year, APEGGA teamed up with the Edmonton Journal and Calgary Herald to produce a 20-page colour supplement highlighting the province’s vibrant engineering and geoscience communities, which hit the streets Feb. 23. It featured members, an activity page and 15 innovative engineers and geoscientists from across Alberta.

The week officially kicked off on Feb. 24, in Calgary at Fluor Canada and in Edmonton at Stantec. Corp-orate teams built and tested giant newspaper Pinocchio noses in Calgary and newspaper chairs in Edmonton. Bantrel was best in Calgary, ATCO Gas in Edmonton.

Over 250 students took part in the APEGGA Science Olympics in Calgary on Feb. 25 at Stampede Park. The Edmonton version attracted 400 students to the Shaw Conference Centre on March 4.
Science olympics were also held in Peace Country and Fort McMurray with impressive turnouts and enthusiastic competitors. And for the first time science olympics were held in Red Deer and Lloydminster, thanks in part to funding from the APEGGA Education Foundation.

View the results of the Edmonton and Calgary Science Olympics, together with photos of the events, at www.apegga.org/K12/olym pics/toc.html.

APEGGA Family Science Nights for elementary schools were held in Calgary and Edmonton. In Calgary, the four science nights attracted more than 500 students, while Edmonton saw over 1,000 people at five science nights. These were deemed a huge success by the students, parents and school staff who participated in the hands-on science activities and demonstrations staffed by APEGGA volunteers.

Engineering students at the University of Alberta joined the NEGW celebrations by hosting a variety of events, including a pancake breakfast, a speech competition, a food sculpture challenge, and a National Engineering & Geosciences Week banquet. Both the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta hosted speech contests, with topics ranging from the pros and cons of being an APEGGA member, to Star Wars versus Star Trek.

News about National Engineering  activities was broadcast by Calgary’s QR770, Citytv in both Calgary and Edmonton, CTV in Edmonton, Global in both Edmonton and Calgary and Shaw in Calgary. Articles also appeared in the Edmonton Journal, the Fort McMurray Today and the St. Albert Gazette.
Thanks go out to all the organizations and volunteers who supported the many provincewide activities. NEGW 2006 was a success and introduced the professions of engineering, geology and geophysics to many Albertans.