Like a kid in a candy store
U of T Mississauga dazzled some VIPs last week, but they weren’t visiting dignitaries, government officials or a crack research team checking out the facilities. They were the children of faculty and staff who descended upon the campus for the annual Take our Daughters and Sons to Work Day.
“This event is a wonderful opportunity for the kids to become better acquainted with their parents’ workplace,” says co-chair Yan Tam-Séguin. “But more importantly, it introduces the various facets of academic study, and—hopefully—inspires the next generation of university students.”
This year marked the twelfth anniversary of the event at UTM, and there were over 30 children from grades 4 to 7 in attendance. Nicolle Wahl, assistant director of communications (digital) kicked off the day’s activities with an overview of research being conducted on campus, interesting UTM facts and a showcase of impressive alumni. She encouraged the youngsters not to let fear stop them from asking questions or from fully participating in the various sessions.
The day’s schedule covered a broad range of subjects. A team of psychology graduate students led the young charges through facial expression and emotional recognition exercises and a trip to a biology lab allowed some up-close-and-personal views of various life forms. The students animated a digital cat with computer technology in a mathematics lab, busted of few Latin-inspired moves in a Zumba class at the RAWC’s dance studio and learned about the human body from medical students in the Mississauga Academy of Medicine.
During lunch, parents joined their children in the Faculty Club, followed by a visit from Corporal Bobbi-Jo Duff, who led an interactive session on the U of T’s Green Dot program, a violence-prevention initiative.
“My favourite parts of the day were visiting the bio lab, dancing Zumba and programming Scratch,” said Ariana Ghavami. “I enjoyed visiting the bio lab because we were allowed to hold the stick bugs, we were allowed to use the microscopes look at specimens up close, and when I had questions the professors were happy to answer them and explain.
“The reason why I enjoyed doing Zumba is that Brenda made all the moves easy to follow, so everyone could join in. And I enjoyed programming Scratch. I thought it was cool because it really showed me how much work goes into making video games.”
Other kids felt similarly enthusiastic about their parents’ work environment. “The day was so much fun and we got to discover lots of new things,” says Alex Séguin, a 9-year-old participant. “I learned a lot about living things under the microscope. My mom works at a cool place.”
Sam McFadden echoed that sentiment. "I really enjoyed my time at bring your daughters and sons to work day. We learned a lot and saw a lot. At the end of the day, I was smarter because I now know not to drink pond water." McFadden requested a course on cloning at next year's event.
And Holly Shin wrapped it up: "From zumba to lunch to computers, you are guaranteed fun, and great garlic bread for lunch!"
The Ms. Foundation is the founding organization for the Take our Daughters and Sons to Work Day model, which was initiated in the U.S. two decades ago.