The Ontario Science Centre recognizes youth who use science and technology to make the world a better place
Nominations now open for the 2015 Weston Youth Innovation Award
TORONTO, Nov. 13, 2014 /CNW/ - Calling all Canadian innovators between the ages of 14 and 18! The Ontario Science Centre wants to recognize you for making the world a better place through science and technology. Nominations are now open for the prestigious Weston Youth Innovation Award, which recognizes youth leaders in science and technology. Now in its sixth year, the annual award recognizes and supports young Canadians who apply science and technology creatively to make a positive difference locally and globally.
"Young Canadian innovators are making a significant difference to the international scientific community," said Catherine Paisley, Vice-President Science Education, Ontario Science Centre. "As an important contributor to the province's innovation ecosystem, the Science Centre is proud to encourage their work, support their innovative ideas and share their work with the public."
Ann Makosinski, a 16-year-old from Victoria, B.C. , was awarded the Weston Youth Innovation Award in 2014 for developing a flashlight powered by the heat of the human hand. "It's truly wonderful to be recognized for my curiosity and creativity," said Makosinski. "This award will allow me to develop my ideas further and help out people along the way. I want to make sure my invention is available to people who need it."
"The quality of the candidates over the last six years has been truly inspiring," said Sabrina Greupner, Manager of the Weston Family Innovation Centre and Cisco Science Fellow for Innovative Learning Technologies, who administers the award on behalf of the Ontario Science Centre. "The innovative ideas and creative work of these young people point to a future where science and technology will be used to make many positive contributions to society."
This year's recipient will receive a $2,000 prize, travel expenses to attend the award ceremony in Toronto and an Ontario Science Centre membership. In addition, the recipient will be featured in a video animation by the Science Centre's award-winning graphics team that will be broadcast online and in the Weston Family Innovation Centre, the news hub of the Science Centre, which welcomes more than one million visitors each year.
Do you know an innovative youth who might qualify for the Weston Youth Innovation Award? Please contact [email protected].
Youth are invited to put their names forward, and teachers and community leaders are asked to encourage potential candidates to apply.
Nominations must be received by February 1, 2015. An external jury will make a selection in April and the winner will be announced on the website by June 22, 2015.
Detailed information about the Weston Youth Innovation Award and past winners can be found at www.OntarioScienceCentre.ca/innovationaward.
The Weston Youth Innovation Award was established in 2008 to encourage and recognize young Canadian innovators and was named in recognition of The W. Garfield Weston Foundation's $15 million lead gift to the Ontario Science Centre's Agents of Change initiative. This national award builds on the Foundation's longstanding tradition of support to educational initiatives for Canadian youth.
The Ontario Science Centre delights, informs and challenges the communities we serve, enriching people's lives and understanding through engagement with science of local, national and global relevance. Since 1969, the Ontario Science Centre has welcomed more than 49 million visitors, with an interactive approach that was the model for Science Centres around the world. It is a venue for public dialogue about science and society, aiming to inspire a lifelong journey of curiosity, discovery and action to create a better future for the planet. Please visit us at OntarioScienceCentre.ca.
The W. Garfield Weston Foundation is a private Canadian family foundation, established in the 1950s by Willard Garfield Weston and his wife Reta. In 1924 Garfield inherited his father's company and during his life established baking and retail businesses throughout Canada and in many parts of the world. The founders believed that as the funds are generated through the hard work and success of these Canadian companies, grants should be given in Canada for the benefit of Canadians. For three generations, The W. Garfield Weston Foundation has maintained a family tradition of supporting charitable organizations across Canada. Today the Foundation directs the majority of its funds to projects in the fields of land conservation, education, and scientific research in Canada's North. In addition, it provides funds to further Canada's research in neuroscience.
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SOURCE: Ontario Science Centre
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Media contacts: Anna Relyea, Director, Strategic Communications, 416-696-3273 | c: 416-668-1967, [email protected]; Jefferson Darrell, Media Relations Officer, 416-696-3154, [email protected]; Andrea Mus, Media Relations Officer, 416-696-3191 | c: 416-895-5482, [email protected]
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