Science Rendezvous



Science Rendezvous is the largest science festival in Canada; its inaugural event happened across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) on Saturday, May 10, 2008 with the support from the University of Toronto, Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University), York University and the Ontario Tech U (previously University of Ontario Institute of Technology). By 2011 the event had gone national, with participation from most major research institutes, universities, science promotion groups and the public from all across Canada - from Vancouver to St. John's to Inuvik. Science Rendezvous is a registered not-for-profit organization dedicated to making great science accessible to the public. In 2019, there were more than 300 festival events in 30 cities across Canada.

This free all-day event aims to highlight and promote great science in Canada. The target audience is the general public, parents, children and youth, with an ultimate aim of improving enrollment and investment in sciences and technology in the future.

Programs
There are a number of different programs that people can participate in, including:

INVENTours: Laboratory and facility tours, demonstrations, activities and lectures at a number of science, technology, research and educational institutes.

Sipping Science: Hosted in cafes, these are intimate discussions with renowned scientists on current hot science topics.

Science Carnival: Demonstrations and hands-on activities in fun carnival atmosphere.

The Amazing Science Chase: First hosted by the University of Toronto, now a national offering that has gone virtual for 2021! Teams of 2-4 participants can compete in an Amazing Race-style event with a science-twist. Participants solve clues and apply their scientific knowledge to problem solve challenges set out as part of an exciting story within which they are immersed.

Sites/Groups that have Participated in Science Rendezvous
In the Greater Toronto Area
 * Harbourfront Centre
 * Hospital for Sick Children
 * Let's Talk Science
 * MaRS Discovery District
 * Mt. Sinai Hospital's Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute (with participation from St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto)
 * Ontario College of Art and Design
 * Ontario Genomics Institute
 * Ontario Institute for Cancer Research
 * Ontario Science Centre
 * Scientists in School
 * Toronto Metropolitan University
 * Toronto Public Library
 * Toronto Zoo
 * Treehouse Group
 * University Health Network
 * Ontario Tech U (University of Ontario Institute of Technology)
 * University of Toronto Mississauga campus
 * University of Toronto St. George campus
 * University of Toronto Scarborough
 * Xerox
 * York University (including the Observatory) and Main Street, Markham
 * Youth Science Ontario

Other Ontario Sites
 * Carleton University
 * Durham College
 * George Brown College
 * Queen's University (Science Rendezvous Kingston at the Leon's Centre)
 * University of Guelph
 * University of Guelph-Humber
 * University of Ottawa
 * University of Waterloo
 * University of Windsor
 * Western University
 * McMaster University

Across Canada
 * Cape Breton University
 * Dalhousie University
 * Inner City Science Centre: Niji Mahkwa School, Winnipeg
 * Kwantlen Polytechnic University
 * University of British Columbia
 * McGill University
 * Memorial University of Newfoundland
 * Simon Fraser University
 * Universite de Montreal
 * Concordia University
 * TELUS World of Science, Edmonton (with support from CIC Edmonton Local Section, Concordia University College, The King’s University College, MacEwan University, NAIT, University of Alberta, University of Alberta Campus Saint-Jean )
 * University of Calgary
 * University of Manitoba
 * University of Regina
 * University of Victoria
 * University of Alberta
 * Southern Alberta Institute of Technology
 * University of Winnipeg
 * University of Saskatchewan
 * Aurora Research Institute
 * College of the North Atlantic- Labrador City
 * Upstream Research, Imperial Oil Campus, Calgary
 * COSIA – Canadian Oil Sands Innovation Alliance