Right Turn: Making science fun and relatable

A popular marketing strategy is to reach (insert demographic) “where they live.” Science Genius appears to have taken that concept to heart when it comes to kids and science.

Science Genius, launched in December 2012 by Christopher Emdin, the musician GZA and the website Rap Genius, began in New York City (NYC) to encourage teens to take an interest in science by rapping about it.

If you are a loyal reader of Signals, you’ll know rapping and science – even stem cell science – isn’t an entirely new concept. There’s the post on the awesome prof who raps (with an original rap from yours truly) and the dark Revenge of the Somatic.

A grade 8 student named Xzavier, from Toronto’s First Nations Junior and Senior School, is heading to NYC this month to attend the Science Genius B.A.T.T.L.E.S., after winning a competition here and securing funding from generous donors (and awareness by the Leacock Foundation). You can watch his winning rap here, by queuing the video to 57:45.

Also in Toronto, but trending a little younger, the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Engineering, Google and STEM charity Actua hosted their first “Innovate U” last week. More than 1,400 elementary school students were at U of T to celebrate innovations in science, technology, engineering and math. According to U of T Engineering News, they “peeked under the surface of today’s tech, including smartphones, 3D printers and solar cars, to understand how they work […].”

The following photos come from the University of Toronto.

Innovate U, a partnership between U of T Engineering, Google and Actua

Innovate U, May 13, 2016

Awesome t-shirt, spotted at Innovate U.

Our regular feature, Right Turn, appears every Friday and we invite you to submit your own blog to info(at)ccrm.ca. We encourage you to be creative and use the right (!) side of your brain. We dare you to make us laugh! Right Turn features cartoons, photos, videos and other content to amuse, educate and encourage discussion.

As always, we welcome your feedback in the comment section.

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Stacey Johnson

Stacey Johnson is the editor of Signals and a contributor. For 25 years, Stacey has been providing strategic communications counsel to government, corporate, technology and health organizations. She began her career at the CTV Television Network and then moved to Hill & Knowlton Canada where she advised clients in a variety of industries and sectors. Stacey is the Vice President, Communications and Marketing for CCRM, a leader in developing and commercializing regenerative medicine-based technologies and cell and gene therapies. She has a Master's degree in Public Relations. You can follow her on Twitter @msstaceyerin.

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