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Names in Space
Cold Lake students
in the SCIberMENTOR program prepare their names for space
travel.
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The Faculty of Engineering
at the University of Alberta is helping students celebrate
Space Day by having their signatures
sent into space. About 100 Cold Lake students belonging to
the SCIberMENTOR program are among a select few chosen from
600 applicants to take part in the NASA’s Student Signatures
in Space program this year.
The SCIberMENTOR program is an e-mail mentoring program
aimed at girls aged 11 to 18 with impact at a formative stage
in their development. The program matches girls with women
who are studying science and engineering or scientific and
engineering practitioners. Faculties of engineering at the
U of A and the University of Calgary are key collaborators
in SCIberMENTOR.
As participants in the SCIberMENTOR program, 100 Cold Lake
students signed a giant poster during a SCIberMINGLE event
at the Lakeland Inn, in May. The poster will be photographed
and taken into space in the next U.S. Space Shuttle mission
in early 2005. Similar signings were held elsewhere in Alberta.
Along with the opportunity to “fly” signatures
into space, the program will receive educational material
and program memorabilia throughout the year. After the space
flight, the poster will be returned with an official NASA
certificate verifying that their signatures flew into space
and a photo of the space shuttle crew who carried their signatures
into orbit.
Alby Pei, SCIberMENTOR program administrator for Northern
Alberta, said: “We are thrilled to have been chosen
as part of the Student Signatures in Space program because
only a small number of international applicants are successful.”
Student Signatures in Space Program
Visit http://astronomylinks.com/s3overview.htm
SCIberMentor
Visit /www.scibermentor.ca/
As
part of the SCIberMINGLE session in Cold Lake, there were
displays highlighting some of the technologies that
have been part of the space program and human exploration
of outer space. “Introducing girls to space travel
inspires them to take greater interest in science and math
in school, enriching their learning experience and, hopefully,
encourages them to pursue a nontraditional career” said
Ms. Pei.
The U of A Faculty of Engineering has been a sponsor of
SCIberMENTOR since 2001. More than 1,000 girls and adult
female mentors have participated in SCIberMENTOR program
to date. Other supporters are EnCana, Alberta Innovation
and Science, and NSERC. Collaborators are the Faculty of
Engineering at the University of Alberta, the University
of Calgary and Alberta Women's Science Network.
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