The Exploration Place will be offering free school visits and programming for northern BC elementary, secondary, and post-secondary schools in the 2023-24 school year.
The Exploration Place has received an an $80,000 grant from the Drax Foundation to do this work.
Funds from the Drax Foundation’s first round of granting, with the goal of supporting education and skills development in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), as well as improving green spaces, enhancing biodiversity, and supporting Indigenous communities, will also be used over the next two years to update, redesign, and expand the museum’s school programs.
This will be done in collaboration with staff experts, teachers, and post-secondary educators. In this first year, it will also support the removal of financial barriers that can be challenging for teachers.
The result will be updated, curriculum-linked programs, increased outreach to classrooms and visiting classes, and an expansion of travelling programs to classrooms in the north over the next three years.
The Exploration Place is one of three organizations chosen in Canada to be beneficiaries of a total of $150,000 in grant funding from the Drax Foundation.
“These organizations have spearheaded important initiatives in their respective fields that have lasting impacts in their local communities,” said Sandy Sung, community manager for Drax.
“Additionally, they each represent the diversity of our local communities which aligns with our values of being a people, climate, and nature positive company.”
The Exploration Place says that by providing free access, the museum is better enabling area students and teachers to benefit from its staff's expertise and new learning experiences.
“We have been looking for ways to increase not only the quality, but also the accessibility of our school programming for a long time,” says Robyn Curtis, The Exploration Place’s vice-president of development and partnerships.
“With this funding, we can hugely expand our roster of informal learning opportunities for Northern B.C. students, and give access to those who would otherwise not be able to participate. Especially in our current climate, it’s so important to educate kids about STEM learning and inspire a new generation of critical thinkers.”
Development of new programs is underway this summer and fall, with free school programs and field trips being offered at the museum beginning this month. As capacity allows, free travelling school programs will begin in 2024.
Booking opens on Sept. 18. Eligible school districts will receive an access code for online booking, or teachers can contact The Exploration Place’s education team.
