UBC is proud to be a host of Science Rendezvous, a free festival that takes science out of the lab and on to the street. Join us on Saturday, May 11 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. for a day of hands-on, family friendly science activities!
Festival-goers of all ages will get a chance to meet world-class researchers and innovators, participate in hands-on experiments, and see amazing scientific demonstrations on UBC's Vancouver campus. There is a Google map with all venues at the bottom of this page.
HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES (all day)
The Monty Hall problem
Earth Science Building, 2207 Main Mall
Calling all probability enthusiasts! The Monty Hall problem, originally posed by Steve Selvin, gained popularity in a magazine column in the 1990s and also famously appears in the movie 21. Although a seemingly simple statistical puzzle, it may be more complex than you initially suspect. Come explore conditional probability and see if you can beat the odds!
All ages
Vancouver spring fungi
Earth Science Building, 2207 Main Mall
Bring your own mushrooms, lichens, molds to add to our display of some of Vancouver's crazy spring fungi! Learn how to recognize the poisonous death cap mushroom and to appreciate the ecological roles of fungi, whether they cause human or plant disease, recycle woody debris, or form symbiotic relationships that help trees to grow.
All ages
Pacific Museum of Earth
Earth Science Building, 2207 Main Mall
Students from Vancouver Independent School of Science and Technology will show off their term project to redesign the Pacific Museum of Earth’s Omniglobe exhibit. Then get up close and personal with some of the museum’s amazing mineral and fossil specimens!
All ages
TRIUMF - Circuits and resistors + magnets and resistance
Earth Science Building, 2207 Main Mall
All ages
Let’s do Earth Sciences
Earth Science Building, 2207 Main Mall
See a superconductor levitating over a magnetic track after being cooled to a low temperature using liquid nitrogen.
Ages: High school students, but younger students may enjoy watching too.
Geering Up
Engineering Student Centre, 2335 Engineering Road Main
UBC Geering Up is proud to host an engineering hub for all age groups! With a variety of interactive demonstrations, the Geering Up team will be joined by six student-led engineering design teams who will showcase their innovative design projects.
All ages
Making vaccines
Michael Smith Laboratories, 2185 East Mall
A hands-on demonstration of how nanoparticles are made for RNA-based vaccines (like the Covid vaccine), with an activity in which teams of participants race to mix their own “vaccines” and put them into a syringe. The demonstration uses food colouring, safe chemicals and syringes without needles.
Ages: Kindergarten to Grade 7
Biochemistry activity
Michael Smith Laboratories, 2185 East Mall
Hands-on activities to learn about life.
CHEMISTRY
Hands-on chemistry activities
Chemistry Building, 2036 Main Mall, Rooms D211 and D213
A space for kids to grab chemistry by the hand in a safe environment where they’ll learn while doing simple yet fascinating chemistry experiments. See and play with non-newtonian fluids, make your own slime, take home a lava lamp!
Ages: Kindergarten to Grade 7
Chemistry demonstrations
Watch chemists bring the stage to life with quantum dots and liquid fireworks. Learn about cool materials, their unexpected properties, and where you find then in your everyday life. Experience the energy of different types of fuels on stage. Did you know that gummy bears can growl when they oxidize?
All ages
These demonstrations are free but you must register separately for each show on Eventbrite so we can prevent overcrowding. Click on the times below to register for a specific demonstration.
| Show | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Fun with colours | 11:00, noon, 1:00 | Chemistry B150 |
| Fun with materials | 11:30, 12:30, 1:30 | Hebb Building Theatre |
| Fun with fuels | 11:00, noon, 1:00 | Chemistry B250 |
Liquid nitrogen ice cream shows
Chemistry Building, 2036 Main Mall, Room D200
A people pleaser and long-time favourite in the Chemistry Department! See liquid nitrogen flash freeze a delicious mixture of ingredients to make ice cream in seconds. It’s the best type of edible chemistry!
All ages
Times: 10:30, 11:15, noon, 12:45, 1:30, 2:15
THE NEST ACTIVITIES
Beaty Biodiversity Museum
6133 University Blvd.
Connect with real museum specimens: some of our favourite plants, animals and other organisms that you can see up close and even touch. Bring your biodiversity questions and curiosity! Want to dive in more deeply? Visit the Beaty Biodiversity Museum and receive 25% off general admission rates on Saturday, May 11 from 10:00am to 5:00 pm.
Math Mania
6133 University Blvd.
Math Mania presents a variety of interactive demonstrations, puzzles, games and art such as the penny game, the Set Game, the 'Game of 24', kaleidoscopes and hexaflexagons, Nim, Tower of Hanoi, the amazing sorting network and a number of other mathematical puzzles and paradoxes. These activities are designed to demonstrate to children - and their parents - fun ways of learning both math and computer science concepts.
Pump it up! Heart Edition (School of Medicine)
6133 University Blvd.
Join us on a fun journey to learn all about the heart and its blood flow! Engage in interactive discussions and audience activities to better understand how our hearts pump blood and how different activities can change our heart rate.
All ages welcome, but most suitable for elementary students and above.
Chemistry
6133 University Blvd.
Hands-on activities
SCIENCE TALKS
Binding blocks
Earth Sciences Building lecture theatres, 2207 Main Mall, Room 2012
Use LEGO® bricks to explore a collection of scientific concepts captured in this unique presentation. Binding Blocks demonstrates how the production of chemical elements in the cosmos—the fusion process occurring inside stars and on Earth—links to nuclear and astrophysics as well as applications in medicine and chemistry.
Older kids (10+) and adults
Time: 10:30
Materials degradation in the nuclear industry
Earth Sciences Building lecture theatres, 2207 Main Mall, Room 2012
Older kids (10+) and adults
Time: 10:30
Rendezvous at Infinity
Earth Sciences Building lecture theatres, 2207 Main Mall, Room 2012
In this interactive presentation, math professor Dr. Fok Shuen Leung discuss the mathematical definition of infinity, and explore this idea in the universe.
Older kids (10+) and adults
Time: 10:30
3 MINUTE THESIS TALKS
Scared to be scarred? Prevent gut fibrosis with bile acids
Earth Sciences Building lecture theatres, 2207 Main Mall, Room 1012
Exploring how the immune system is sculpted during development and how perinatal microbial exposures result in lifelong alterations in immune response to disease.
Older kids (10+) and adults
Time: 11:00
Soil amendments for the degradation of stormwater-derived trace organic contaminants in bioretention systems
Earth Sciences Building lecture theatres, 2207 Main Mall, Room 1012
Older kids (10+) and adults
Time: 11:00
Axion Quark Nuggets: A recipe for a glowing Milky Way?
Earth Sciences Building lecture theatres, 2207 Main Mall, Room 1012
Older kids (10+) and adults
Time: 1:30
MUSEUMS
Beaty Biodiversity Museum
(25% off admission) 2212 Main Mall
Explore the university’s spectacular biological collections, with 20,000 square feet of exhibits, from insects to birds! Among our two million treasured specimens is a 26- metre-long blue whale skeleton suspended in the atrium, dinosaur trackways from BC’s early Cretaceous period, and myriad fossils, mammals, reptiles, and plants from around our region and across the planet. Through our collections, interactive activities and regularly changing art exhibitions, you can learn more about the biodiversity of British Columbia, Canada, and the world.
Pacific Museum of Earth
(Free entrance) 6339 Stores Road
The Pacific Museum of Earth boasts a 15-metre dinosaur skeleton, a vault of precious gems, and a tornado machine. Well known for its 80-million-year-old Lambeosauras skeleton, the PME now contains a secure precious minerals vault designed to showcase precious metals, gems and gem minerals, and rare and delicate mineral specimens. Additionally, the museum displays spectacular collections of minerals, rocks and fossils from around the world in the regular display cases.
Nitobe Memorial Garden
1895 Lower Mall
Free entrance for Science Rendezvous visitors with wristband – pick up at the Science Rendezvous info centre in the lower atrium of The Nest.
Nitobe Memorial Garden is considered one of the most authentic Japanese gardens outside of Japan. Nitobe Memorial Garden was designed to create a reverence for and sense of harmony with nature. The garden is beautiful in all weather and highlights the passing of the seasons: cherry blossoms shower the garden in spring, irises bloom in summer, maple leaves glow red and yellow in fall. Trees—both native and Japanese—are pruned in the Japanese tradition to frame the garden in winter. A visit to Nitobe Memorial Garden is a window into Japanese culture and brings to light an important aspect of Japanese-Canadian history.
