MCYU Family Lecture Series
About the MCYU Family Lecture Series
MCYU’s on-campus program offers free, monthly lectures on Saturday mornings at McMaster University. These lectures are geared toward young individuals ages 7–14 and cover all science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) topics. The lectures are presented by post-secondary professors who are experts in their field. This is an opportunity for all young individuals to experience what it feels like to be a university student.
Post Lecture Activities
Everyone learns in different ways and learning is enhanced when students get to experience the excitement of discovery. We are offering post-lecture activities that relate to the lecture topic. This hands-on learning experience helps make the information from the lecture come to life.
Families can explore the campus together and get a feel for a post-secondary environment in one of the top five universities in Canada and top 100 in the world!
Upcoming Family Lectures
Resource Downloads
Registration
Expandable List
Visit our registration page or find us on Eventbrite by searching ‘MCYU’.
Yes. We ask all parents to register their children separately. This is to ensure we capture the details of all children who attend six or more lectures and qualify to receive a graduation certificate at the end of the year.
Yes! Sometimes we reach seating capacity for an event. If that happens, we will try to secure a larger lecture hall, in which case, we will release additional tickets to the names on our waitlist. If you would like to be notified when seats become available, please register your name on the waitlist.
Yes. However, to avoid disappointment we suggest attendee’s register in advance. You are welcome to attend without registration but admittance is not guaranteed.
Please contact us if you cannot attend and we will give your seats to a family on the waiting list. Please email us or call 905-521-2100 ext. 73790.
Lectures
Expandable List
The suggested age is children 7–14 years old but we do not restrict attendance to that demographic. Students as young as five years old and as old as 18 years old often attend.
MCYU lectures cover a variety of disciplines including but not limited to: health sciences, natural sciences, social sciences, engineering, business and history.
Topics are selected based on recommendations from our children and youth attendees via an electronic survey emailed after each event, as well as verbal recommendations.
Lectures begin promptly at 11 a.m. We begin with a short introduction by MCYU co-founder Dr. Sandy Raha, followed by the 45 minute interactive lecture and 15 minutes of a question and answer (Q&A) between the children and the professor.
Directly following the lectures, we organize post-lecture activities with the McMaster Chapter of Let’s Talk Science. These activities run for approximately one hour.
Post-lecture events are hands-on experiential learning activities that relate to the lecture material. Children and youth are able to apply what they learned in the lecture to real-life scenarios, with the help of Let’s Talk Science mentors. Examples of past post-lecture activities include:
- Post Robotic Surgery Lecture: Navigating a remote control car through a maze while blindfolded
- Post Genetics Lecture: Extracting DNA from a banana
Yes! We can always use more help. Please email us or leave your name and email at the registration table at one of our events.
MCYU in the City Workshops
MCYU in the City was founded in 2014 to take the MCYU brand of educational experiences out to communities. These one-hour workshops are developed based on questions and interests of youth ages 7–14 and challenge them to work in teams to creatively develop solutions to issues that they may face in their everyday lives. The workshops are facilitated by highly trained McMaster University students who work interactively with youth following our education credo: Question-Discover-Create™.
Our student facilitators guide the youth to question the world around them, discover their own potential and work together to create solutions. This inquiry-based learning method empowers youth by demonstrating that they are an important part of the discovery process that happens all around them, every day.
MCYU in the City has formed valuable partnerships with Hamilton Wentworth District School Board, Hamilton Public Library, Boys and Girls Clubs of Hamilton, the YMCA Beyond the Bell Program, The North Hamilton Community Centre and Pathways to Education, The Cathy Weaver after-school program, as well as the Hamilton Home School Network. Our workshops can be carried out in community centres, libraries and schools.
Interested in getting involved?
- Are you a community member who would like to attend one of our workshops? Visit our event calendar and stay up to date with where we are in the city.
- Are you a community agency that would like to book a workshop at your facility? Email us to inquire about booking a workshop at your facility.
- Are you a McMaster student wondering how you can become a MCYU in the City workshop facilitator? Learn more.
Curiosity Crawl
Next Curiosity Crawl Coming Sat. November 30.
Event Information:
Date: Saturday, November 30, 2024
McMaster University – Burke Science Building (BSB)
12:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Ages 7–14 (whole family welcome)
Cost: FREE!
Curiosity Crawl
Starring – MCYU Student Facilitators
At our Curiosity Crawl, young folks and families have the opportunity to participate in TWO MCYU Workshops.
MCYU workshops are facilitated by McMaster Students enrolled in COMMUNITY BASED LEARNING WITH MCYU. Our students cannot wait to share their workshops with you. Join us on campus and get ready to Question, Discover, Create!
At MCYU, it is important to us that our programs remain accessible to all. Our Family Lectures and MCYU in the City workshops will continue to be free.
If you are able and feel inclined to support our free programs – MCYU Family Lectures, MCYU in the City Workshops – you can make a donation. Your generous donations help to keep the majority of our programming free and accessible to all across the Greater Hamilton Area.
Agenda
12:15pm – 1:00pm: Check in/Registration
1:10pm – 2:10pm: First Workshop Session
2:10pm – 2:30pm: Break
2:30pm – 3:30pm: Second Workshop Session
Parking
If you are driving, please park in Parking Lot I. We will be able to provide you with a parking voucher, which will discount your parking
Bring Your Own Snack
You are encouraged to bring your own snacks (nut free) for the day. There is nowhere to purchase food in the Burke Science Building so please plan ahead and pack whatever food you and your children may need throughout the afternoon.
Bring a labelled water bottle
Help us cut back on creating waste from water bottles and bring a reusable water bottle for the day.
Registration/check-in (Burke Science Building)
Check-in starts at 12:15 p.m. Upon checking in, you will be given a map and bracelets for the workshops you have signed up for when you registered online.
Parent waiting room
Parents who do not want to sit in on the workshops are welcome to hang out in the designated waiting room in the Burke Science Building. We ask that you meet your child at the end of the workshop to help them get to their next destination. There will be volunteers around to help guide people, but we will not be providing one-on-one supervision.
Parental supervision
Parents are required to stay on site with their children. MCYU staff and volunteers are trained to assist children and youth but cannot assume responsibility for the safety and well-being of children left unattended in the building.
MCYU policies and services are designed to provide a safe and welcoming environment for customers of all ages but parents need to use the same caution with their children on McMaster’s campus as they would in any other public setting.
Responsibility for the welfare and the behaviour of children at MCYU’s Curiosity Crawl ultimately rests with the parent/legal guardian or an assigned caregiver. MCYU recognizes the terms as stipulated in the Ontario Child and Family Services Act (CFSA) with regard to the supervision of children.
Expandable List
First Workshop Session
- Animation Station: Superheroes! Princesses! Skibidi Toilet! Have you ever wondered how these beloved characters were brought to life on the big screen? Want to make these characters mog or mew? Gain +1000 aura when you sign up for Animation Station! Learn the basics of your favourite animations and create your own flipbook and stop motion animations! WE ADD THE BOOM!!
- The Brainiacs: Step into Brainland and help our team of brain messengers—Dopamine Dan, Serotonin Sally, and Norepinephrine Nora—restore order to the mind! Come solve the mystery of how the brain works while exploring how emotions, focus, and fun are all powered by tiny, powerful transmitters. Join the adventure and become a brain expert—Brainland needs you!
- Tomorrowland: Join us for an exciting Among Us-themed workshop where we will discover more about AI. Discover how to spot misinformation, understand how Artificial Intelligence works, and use it responsibly. Together we’ll explore technology and truth, all while having a blast!
- Evolutionaries: Come join the Evolutionaries workshop and discover the amazing ways animals survive and adapt to different environments! You’ll get to explore how animals use their special skills and bodies to live in all kinds of places, from the ocean to the desert. Get ready to learn cool facts about animals and what makes each one so unique!
- One in a Minion Memory: Calling all memory explorers!! Join the minions on a mission as they dive into Kevin’s brain to learn about cool brain regions and discover how our minds remember fun stuff like birthdays. Don’t miss out on the fun with exciting activities, like memory games, playing memory detectives, and learning about how different animals remember.
- Superstars!: Get ready to make the stars come alive in an adventure that’s out of this world! Join our hands-on workshop where YOU get to build constellations, uncover the hidden stories behind each star pattern, and bring them to life! Become a Superstar and save the day by helping stargazers back to safety!
- Fear Unmasked: The Boo Crew’s Hunt for Campus Ghosts: Are you ready for a thrilling and spooky mystery? Join the Boo Crew team and explore the psychology of fear! Uncover unheard campus secretes, learn how to face your fears, and dive into an unforgettable journey of curiosity and discovery.
- Eggstra Protection Patrol (EPP): Have you ever seen an egg CRACK? What if that egg could have been protected? Join the Eggstra Protection Patrol Team for Humpty Dumpty’s Helmet Challenge! In our workshop, you will get to design a helmet to protect your egg from a BIG FALL! We will learn all about how similarly our brain is protected by our skull, and the importance of safe play and protective equipment. Always remember a safe brain is a smart brain!
- Galaxy Buddies: Join the Galaxy Buddies as we race through space, trying to get back home. By hitting Pluto, Saturn and Mars we will attempt 3 different science experiments to explore more about our planets and outer space, all while heading back to Earth.
- Entrepreneurship: Oh no! A meteor is heading straight towards Hamilton! In this exciting workshop, young inventors team up to create solutions that could save the day. Through hands-on challenges, they’ll learn to think like entrepreneurs, dream up life-saving ideas, and bring them to life!
- Sensory Safari: Join us on our “Sensory Safari”, where you’ll explore the amazing world of your five senses! Through interactive games and hands-on activities, you’ll learn how your senses—sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing—help you understand and communicate with the world around you. Join us for a fun-filled time as you unlock the secrets of your senses!
- Brain Detectives: Calling all detectives! We need the best thinkers around to help us solve the mysteries of the brain. Your mission: join the four brain lobes and detective in putting the Golden Brain back together and crack this case once and for all!
- The Jiggly Scientists: Calling all taste testers! The minions have mixed up our jiggly Jell-O’s! In this workshop, we’ll explore how colours don’t always match the flavors we expect. Join us on this tasty adventure where you get to be the scientist and team up with your peers to uncover surprising colours, unexpected flavors, and a whole lot of fun along the way!
Second Workshop Session
- Sweet Thieves Society: Calling all junior detectives to join the Sweet Thieves Society for an exciting crime-solving adventure, where kids become detectives on the hunt for clues! From fingerprint analysis to UV light mysteries, this hands-on workshop introduces forensic science and brings real-world STEM concepts to life, making learning fun and unforgettable! Perfect for curious minds who love mystery and adventure!
- Eco Explorers: Join our team of “The Eco Explorers” and discover the fascinating world of soils from different regions around the globe and the amazing plants that thrive in each type. Explore how soil quality affects plant growth and gain a deeper appreciation for our environment. Let’s dig in and uncover the wonders of nature together!
- Catastic Adventures: Join us at the Catastic Adventure Workshop and explore the world of Big Cats! Compete against other groups by creating your own Big Cat based on our teachings of their type of diet, some facts and myths, their main features, and their survival techniques. Create your ultimate Big Cat champion that will survive the longest with us on November 30th.
- Chemists in the Candy Factory: Ever dream of making candy like Willy Wonka? Join our epic workshop to learn the mind-blowing chemistry behind candy that pops, fizzes, and reacts! You’ll be the candy master in no time!
- Bendy Adventures: Enter ‘The Bendy Avengers Workshop’, where you can stretch and move like a superhero and unleash your superhero! Our next generation of heroes will join our elite squad and learn how movement can motivate their heroic adventures.
- Movie Monsters: Welcome to the world of classic movie monsters! Join our fun and interactive workshop, where you will learn about the history of iconic creatures like Dracula, Frankenstein, and more — learn more about what these monsters symbolize, why they look the way they do, & what makes them so scary!
Perfect for little horror fans and curious minds alike!!!
- Food for Thought: Have you ever wondered about the science behind the foods you make and eat? Come to “Food for Thought” to learn about the chemistry in cooking and baking while also getting the chance to see firsthand how baking soda and vinegar interact! Spoiler alert: they don’t mix well…
- Pixie Professors: Welcome to Pixie Professors! This enchanting workshop invites kids to explore the world of fairies from around the globe, learning fun cultural lessons through hands-on activities and interactive storytelling. Each child will join our magical Pixie Professors to help solve the mystery of why people have stopped believing in fairies, while gaining valuable life lessons in kindness, respect, and caring for the environment.
- Supersaurus Squad: Our biggest dinosaur has escaped the Jurassic Park! Come to our workshop to learn all about dinosaurs and use clues to track this dinosaur down!
- Chemist Cuisine: Join us for “The Chemist Cuisine”, where you’ll discover the awesome science behind freezing and help make your very own ice cream! We’ll mix fun, flavor, and science to whip up some delicious treats together. Don’t miss out on the chance to become a real ice cream scientist!
- DNA Detectives: Are you ready for a fun-filled adventure inside your own body? From eye colour to super cool traits, you’ll solve mysteries and discover how your body works in awesome ways. Become a DNA Detective and uncover the secrets of what makes YOU unique!
- Megolodon: Dive into the ancient world of the Megalodon, the massive shark that ruled the oceans millions of years ago. Through hands-on activities and interactive storytelling, we’ll learn about the Megalodon’s size, diet, and mysterious extinction. It’s a fun adventure where young explorers uncover the secrets of one of history’s most fascinating predators!