Pueblo Science

If you enjoy looking at clouds as much as we do, here’s a great way to turn that curiosity into science!
By taking photos of the sky at specific times, we can help scientists determine whether each pixel in a satellite image represents a cloud or clear sky. Your observations can also help scientists better understand the properties of clouds—and, when the sky is clear, the atmosphere and surface below.
Let's participate and help NASA scientists better understand our planet!

You can help improve NASA satellite data — just by taking photos of clouds! ☁️📸

From Sept. 15 – Oct. 15, join the PACE Clouds Challenge using the GLOBE Observer app.

Snap cloud photos as the PACE satellite passes overhead to support NASA’s efforts to better understand cloud detection. 🛰️

Anyone can participate — all you need is the app and the sky above you!

Learn more: https://go.nasa.gov/4ywHEdC

Perfect day at the Pueblo BBQ! Delicious bbq, to die for desserts, and so much fun with our volunteers!

We had an absolute blast and didn't want the day to end. We stayed until almost 6 pm playing badminton, volleyball, and bocce - lots of laughs, friendly competition and great conversations.

We thank Vincent Chan for the desserts!

One of our environmental-themed activities for Grade 7 students in First Nation communities this year is called Battle of the Wraps.

Students boiled water and poured it into several paper cups, then wrapped the cups with different materials to test their insulating properties. They measured the temperature of each cup every 3 minutes and compared bubble wrap, aluminum foil, cotton fabric, and newspaper, while leaving one cup uncovered as a control.

Through this hands-on experiment, students learned why insulation is used in homes, jackets, and coolers. Insulation helps conserve energy, maintain comfortable temperatures, and reduce heating costs. The activity also gave students valuable practice in recording, analyzing, and graphing data.

We thank Carly Keshen for leading this engaging and educational activity. Carly is an MSC student in Medical Sciences at UofT, working on a project to improve the understanding of women's health.

Last week’s Grade 7 session was all about greenhouse gases and climate action!

Students explored the vital role greenhouse gases play in keeping Earth habitable, while examining how rising concentrations drive global warming and climate change. To wrap up the discussion, everyone brainstormed practical, everyday ways they can reduce their own carbon footprints.

Hands-On Science in Action:
The class put theory into practice by generating carbon dioxide (CO2) using a classic baking soda and vinegar reaction. They captured the gas in sealed containers, exposed them to sunlight, and meticulously recorded and compared the temperature changes against controlled samples over time.

A huge thank you to Ankit Ray, an MSc student at the University of Toronto, for leading this fantastic session! When he isn't inspiring the next generation of scientists, Ankit is working on cutting-edge projects, developing predictive machine learning models for liver disease progression.

We are incredibly grateful to NSERC PromoScience and TD FEF for their ongoing support of our programs and for making these impactful learning experiences possible.

Yesterday's Grade 7 lesson in Webequie First Nation focused on ecosystems and the factors that affect survival within them. Students learned about biotic and abiotic limiting factors through an engaging hands-on activity.

The teacher hid colored papers around the classroom, representing resources needed for survival. As environmental conditions changed, the number of available papers decreased, creating competition among students to find enough resources to survive.

To introduce the role of predators in an ecosystem, the activity evolved into a tag game. Two students were assigned the role of wolves, while the remaining students were rabbits. The rabbits had to collect three colored papers while avoiding the wolves. Due to the limited classroom space, none of the rabbits survived—they were all caught by the predators!

The students had a great time while learning firsthand how environmental factors, competition, and predation influence the balance of ecosystems.

We thank Jino Lim for instructing the class and NSERC Promo Science for supporting this program.

As part of Earth Week celebrations, our Director, Phil Dennis, and volunteer Jilian Halpern hosted an engaging workshop for Grade 9 and 10 students at Marshall McLuhan Catholic Secondary School. Focusing on sustainability, they shared valuable insights into Canada’s cleantech sector, lifecycle assessment methodologies, and nature-based bioremediation innovations, including the use of algae, bioplastics, and biochar technologies. Their presentation highlighted real-world applications of these solutions and inspired students to explore future pathways in environmental science and sustainable innovation.

Students particularly enjoyed the hands-on activities and the opportunity to interact with our volunteers. Reflecting on the experience, student Elena B. wrote:

“The Pueblo Science presentation was a great introduction to eco-friendly innovation, technology, and solutions. The presentation was an amazing way to learn about how environmental technology is used to solve issues that may seem overly intimidating or unsolvable on our planet. The presentation introduced concepts such as bioremediation, the act of repairing damaged environments, which included solutions to issues such as chemical leaching into large amounts of soil and excess CO2 pollution. We learned how Pueblo Science has assisted places such as Indigenous communities and developing countries. I enjoyed how the experiments and demonstrations offered a streamlined learning experience and made concepts visually easy to understand. Demonstrations such as eco-friendly plastic alternative creation and the algae growth displays were both engaging and informative. The Kahoot! at the end of the presentation was also engaging and fun, overall solidifying the experience in our learning.”

This testimonial was excerpted from an article by Mirela Mahmutaj published on the TCDSB News website: https://www.tcdsb.org/o/marshallmcluhan/article/2844633

We thank Siremlabs and Geosyntec for supporting our volunteers!

Science Festival at North Spirit Lake First Nation!

Students had an amazing time exploring science through hands-on activities, including making fruit batteries, bath bombs, perfumes, slime, and robotic cars, as well as building structures with toothpicks and marshmallows—and much more!

We had a wonderful time working with the students and teachers at Victoria Linklater Memorial School. Thank you for inviting us back each year. We always look forward to inspiring young minds through science, technology, engineering, and math!

We thank Promo science for supporting our program.

We are in Dumanjug, Cebu introducing teachers and students to robotics! We ended today’s activities with a careers-in-science Q&A session with the students, where they asked inspiring questions about technology, engineering, and future opportunities in STEM.

We thank PSHS Central Visayas and the Office of the Mayor at Dumanjug for hosting us and organizing the event.

Today's robotics challenge for Grades 4–6 students: assemble and program your robot, attach a soil moisture sensor, and identify the driest and wettest plant! 🌱🤖

The students had so much fun running from one plant to another.

The activity was followed by a demonstration of an automated plant watering system, showing students how robotics and sensors can help care for plants and support smart farming.

We are at Isic Isic National High School introducing students and teachers to robotics! 🤖

The students successfully built and programmed their very first robot—an obstacle-detecting and line-following car! It was exciting to see them learn coding, engineering, and problem-solving through hands-on STEM activities.