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Science World On the Road thrills Valley students

BC Hydro presenters teach electrical safety

Students at seven elementary schools around the Cowichan Valley learned about science and electrical safety this week from the pros as part of Science World’s On The Road program.

“It uses fun, inquiry-based demonstrations to engage British Columbians in science, to spark curiosity and stimulate learning,” says the program’s website and boy the students get a kick out of the experiments, learning to observe, predict and test out their theories.

BC Hydro educators have joined Science World staff for the tour.

“We have partnered with Science World On the Road since January 2017, so it’s a year old,” said BC Hydro spokesperson Susie Rieder. “We visited northeast BC back in January and February 2017 and we just visited northern Vancouver Island in December. Right now we are visiting the south Island. We do this because we realize that a lot of kids outside the Lower Mainland might not otherwise have the chance to visit Science World.”

The BC Hydro team gets a 10-minute time slot at the beginning of each presentation.

“Because it’s storm season and electrical lines can fall, we educate kids about what they should do if they see a downed line. That is to stay back 10 metres, about the length of a bus, and dial 911 right away. We actually do that demo. Our reps show with a tape measure how far that actually is because it’s a lot farther than you would think.”

They also demonstrate how to exit a vehicle if a downed power line falls onto it.

“Then they do their fun Science World demos and show how electricity works and that sort of thing. We are really happy to be a part of it because it’s very cool and the more people we can educate on safety, the better.”

George Bonner, Khowhemun, Drinkwater, Discovery, Lake Cowichan, Palsson, and Chemainus Elementary students were the lucky participants this time around.



sarah.simpson@cowichanvalleycitizen.com

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Sarah Simpson

About the Author: Sarah Simpson

I started my time with Black Press Media as an intern, before joining the Citizen in the summer of 2004.
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