Ottawa, Ontario – Cheryl Gallant, MP Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke congratulated students from St. Anthony’s Catholic school in Chalk River and Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School in Petawawa in a statement in the House of Commons for their participation in the world’s largest practical science lesson.
This activity was planned to kick-off this year’s National Science and Technology week. The largest practical science lesson consisted of 2 experiments: the water mister, which had students placing a short straw in a cup of water, holding it upright and keeping the bottom of the straw submerged. They blew through the second, longer straw, holding it so that it was perpendicular and very close to the first straw, to observe water mist spraying from the first straw.
The second experiment was the kissing balloons. Students inflated two balloons, attaching a piece of string to each. They held one balloon by the string in each hand and positioned the two balloons at nose level 6 inches apart. They then blew hard into the space between the balloons to observe the pressure of the surrounding air pushing the balloons together.
A report by the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) on the state of science and technology (S&T) in Canada, ranked Canada fourth highest in the world in a survey of over 5,000 leading international researchers. Canada is recognized as punching well above its weight in a highly competitive world.
Mrs. Cheryl Gallant (Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, Conservative):
Mr. Speaker, congratulations to the students from St. Anthony’s Catholic School in Chalk River and Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School in Petawawa, and the thousands of other students at 135 schools and other locations across Canada who participated in attempting to set the Guinness World Record for the largest practical science lesson at multiple locations.
The record-breaking event took place on Friday, October 12 at exactly the same time across Canada. The activity marked the official launch of National Science and Technology Week 2012, which this year runs from October 12 to October 21.
It was a way to help celebrate the occasion by encouraging as many Canadians as possible to have fun with science. The students from Chalk River and Petawawa benefited from living close to the Chalk River Laboratories with help from Atomic Energy of Canada Limited scientists who volunteered their time to assist with the lessons. Congratulations to all the students and their teachers who participated in the world’s largest practical science lesson.