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One year in …  

How many STAN newsletters have you received? If this is your fifth, then you’ve been with us since we launched last summer. Whether you’ve subscribed from the beginning or are new to this newsletter, we hope you find it helpful and that it helps connect you to our network in a meaningful way. 
Published quarterly, we aim to share stories from our members and point out ways you can connect and engage with the national STEM community. Members are invited to share stories to showcase their work and invite others to collaborate and participate. In this edition, you’ll learn more about Canada 2067 and about astronomy events next month.

Meanwhile, the STAN board is planning for our 2018 Conference (we’ll share date, location and theme in the fall), and adding great resources to our website such as the videos from our February 2017 Conference as well as a full conference report in the member only section of the STAN website.


Thanks for being part of STAN! Tell your colleagues about us and encourage them to join STAN; this network only improves as we diversify and grow.


Our next newsletter will be published in October, until then have a wonderful summer.

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46th Annual Conference

September 13-16, 2017

Ottawa, Ontario
Partial Solar Eclipse - August 21 2017

The event of the year for amateur astronomers is the solar eclipse on August 21, 2017. Most enthusiasts will cross the border to the United States to observe the total eclipse — often called the nature’s greatest show! For those of you staying in Canada, the view may be less spectacular but it’s definitely a special event worth watching.
The partial eclipse will be visible all across Canada. The luckiest will be those on the West Coast who will see the Sun 90% hidden by the Moon. In Eastern Canada, this fraction will be around 50% whereas in Northern Canada, the Moon will cover only 20% of the Sun. For the most part, the eclipse takes place in the middle of the day and therefore it’s easy to observe with children in day camps or visitors to parks, museums and science centres. Regardless of your audience, this event is a good opportunity to observe it if the sky is clear and to organize science activities explaining solar eclipses. 

The most important aspect of solar eclipse observation is health safety. Make sure everyone can watch the eclipse safely by protecting their eyes. The easiest way is to use eclipse glasses or to project the image of the Sun. Although a telescope will make it possible to magnify the image of the Sun, it’s not necessary to view the eclipse and does require special safety equipment (adequate solar filter). If you want a pair of eclipse glasses, make sure you get them from reliable sources such as telescope or science stores, planetariums, science centres or amateur astronomer clubs such as the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada.

For more information on the eclipse, how to observe it and activity ideas, visit http://www.discovertheuniverse.ca/solareclipse2017/
STEM News
Member Broadcast

The Perseids - August 10 to 14, 2017


The month of August 2017 offers two amazing opportunities to observe the sky and organize group activities related to astronomy. These celestial shows are free and accessible to everyone – there’s no excuse not to enjoy them! Here is some information to help you plan your observation activities.

Every year, the Earth passes through a dusty region of its orbit during the second week of August. This small cosmic debris, leftovers from the comet Swift-Tuttle, enter our atmosphere and create magnificent shooting stars; and this year you can witness the Perseid meteor shower on August 12!

The Perseids last a few nights and the chances of seeing shooting stars are very good from August 10-14. This year, the maximum intensity will be the night of August 12 and 13, which is the weekend, making it easier to stay up late! Obviously the sky must be clear in order to observe the meteor shower, so consider having a backup plan if you’re organizing a group.
Our role in the future of STEM learning
 
Canada 2067 is a national initiative to unite Canadians around a new vision for youth STEM learning, focusing on Kindergarten to Grade 12.
 
To develop an action plan in collaboration with youth, educators, parents, policy makers, business leaders, and community groups, Canada 2067 is going on a nation-wide search of perspectives and opinions on STEM learning.  We need to work together to set and implement ambitious goals for learning to keep pace with an increasingly knowledge- and technologically-intensive society – especially as other countries vie to do the same. The goal is to have more than 150,000 conversations about the future of science learning in Canada. And they are well on our way – with more than 65,000 Canadians having already offered input.  But there is still work to do.
 
To help spark conversations and shape the future of STEM learning for all five million Canadian youth, we need your help.
 
How you can shape the future of STEM learning 
Complete Canada 2067 polls and share them with your network: We are interested to know what you and your network think about science learning in Canada. Every one to two weeks Canada 2067 asks a different series of questions to inform the Canada 2067 action plan. 
 
Suggested share copy for social media:
Help generate more than 150,000 conversations about the future of science learning in Canada. Contribute an idea to the Canada 2067 action plan by completing these three questions about science learning in Canada.

Parents agree: skills like critical thinking are essential to future success. Share your opinion!

Join the conversation on social media:
A lot of people are contributing ideas on Facebook and Twitter , check them out and be part of the conversation.

Sign up at Canada 2067 to learn more about regional youth summits and the national leadership conference. 

How Canada 2067 will engage youth in the conversation
Youth have an important role to play to share their opinions too. Canada 2067 has developed three conversation guides that will gather views of students about role models, making STEM relevant and the responsibility of learners. They are available online .

To learn more, please visit Canada 2067’s website  canada2067.ca or reach out at  canada2067@letstalkscience.ca.