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2018 CASCADE AWARD RECIPIENTS 

View 2018 Nominees 

Best Program 

Mental Health: The Science of Anxiety – Ontario Science Centre

Mental Health: The Science of Anxietyis a collection of 45-minute interactive presentations for middle school or secondary students, delivered onsite or via videoconference. Educational outcomes for students include an understanding of the distinction between mental health and mental illness, the neurophysiological processes involved with anxiety, and evidence-based coping strategies.

Best Exhibit or Show – Small Institution

Disheveling! A Hair-raising Exhibition – Sherbrooke Nature and Science Museum

Travelling and family-oriented,Disheveling! A Hair-raising Exhibition about a surprising subject: hairs! Effective in tousling even the most prude and in healing trichophobia, it shows visitors the true nature of their human hair, but also that of animals, insects and plants.

Best Exhibit or Show – Large Institution

Planet MTL –The Biosphere, Environment Museum

Planet MTLis an innovative, educational exhibition designed to immerse visitors in learning about Urban Ecosystems. The exhibition challenges visitors to consider what they love about their city in the context of what makes their city livable, lovable and sustainable, despite modern issues such as pollution and climate change.

Wonder – Science World British Columbia

Wonderis Science World’s gallery for early learners. This highly interactive gallery boasts 3,300 square feet for children age 0–5 to crawl, splash, build, climb and experiment. Child development experts collaborated with the Science World team to create this space that is designed for children to learn through play.

CELEBRATING DIVERSITY & INCLUSION 

The CASC Diversity and Inclusion committee has been looking at ways to help Canada’s Science Centres represent the diversity of the Canadian population within its workforce and its visiting audiences.  

Below are just a few examples of the efforts made over the past year. We love to see the work being done across Canada and look forward to sharing more next year. 

  • The Exploration Place Museum and Science Centre opens a permanent exhibit with a collection of materials both Lheidli T’enneh and more broadly from the Dakelh cultural group.
  • Science North launched their planetarium show, Under the Same Stars: Minwaadiziwin. Showcasing Indigenous worldviews and the Anishinaabe stories that define them.
  • An installation at the Ontario Science Centre, Portraits of Resilience: Teens Take on Climate Change presented the effects of climate change from the perspective of youth aged eight to 16 in the Arctic and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
  • South Science City features an exhibit and workshop dedicated to local inventor Elijah McCoy born to self-freed parents who came to Canada  by way of the Underground Railroad.
  • Montréal Space for Life adds a Third Cultural Garden at the Botanical Garden – the First Nations Garden offers a multimedia experience set to the intense heartbeat of the cycle of life.
  • The Manitoba Museum received the History Alive! award for its development of Spirit Lines, an educational tool kit that combines Indigenous heritage with museum expertise.
  • The Okanagan Science Centre raised money to purchase 28 memberships to distribute to low-income and refugee families in Vernon.
  • The Montréal Science Centre presents their new exhibit Indigenous Ingenuity: Timeless Inventions, an interactive quest that takes you into the heart of Indigenous innovation all across Canada
  • Science Timmins works with local seniors to design and build train exhibit.
  • To celebrate National Engineering month Saskatchewan Science Centre hosted a Girls Night Out event that was promoted as an inclusive event welcoming ALL girls including trans, gender, queer and non-binary.
  • For International Women’s Day Perimeter Institute hosted over 200 girls at their centre to hear from Women working in STEM.
  • The Exploration Place Museum and Science Centre aims to digitize almost 150 oral history tapes in the Lheidli dialect of Dakelh to preserve the language.
  • In honour of World Autism Awareness Day, Ontario Science Centre celebrates neurodiversity offering sensory-friendly events and programming
  • The Canada Science and Technology Museum receive the Accessibility Certified Gold rating  for their focus on making their visitors  overall experience as barrier-free as possible, for as many needs as possible.