DiscoverE After School and Lunch Clubs Bursaries

The Cause

Our mission is to have children and youth recognize the value and importance of engineering, science and technology in today’s world and consider the pursuit of related fields a fun, interesting and rewarding option for their future. DiscoverE was founded in Edmonton in 1993 in response to a national concern about the shortage of engineers, scientists and technically literate individuals in Canadian society. This shortage was identified as a result of the lack of interest in science, math and technology in younger generations. If children are exposed to engineering and science at an early age, they are more likely to pursue further studies in these fields.

DiscoverE remains committed to our original mission. Our programs feature an interactive, hands-on approach to learning. Many students who attended some of the first DiscoverE summer camps are now pursuing post-secondary education and careers in engineering and science, and some have even returned to work at DiscoverE as instructors!

Our school clubs focus on working with schools in Edmonton to give students the opportunity to experience the excitement of science, technology, engineering, and math through fun, interactive hands-on activities and challenges. School clubs are presented by a pair of enthusiastic, highly-trained University of Alberta student instructors who bring in all the materials and take care of the clean-up.

Who Will it Benefit?

We have Coding clubs for students in: Grades 1-3, 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12, and we have General Science clubs for Grades 1-3, and 4-6. They are 8 weeks in length, and there are 3 levels of curriculum. Schools can either register for an Afterschool Club, or a Lunch Club. These clubs are key for keeping youth engaged during lunch and after school. It also helps bridge the gap between learning and fun. We get many of requests from schools with at-risk youth or schools that cannot afford these types of clubs. We would love to expand our offerings of these clubs.
These bursary clubs would be run at schools who serve low income families and could normally not afford to host our clubs. Each club will reach 30 youth in Edmonton and surrounding area’s schools. Our goal would be to expand the number of clubs we run, which is currently 2-4 a term.