Actua (Canadian charity)

This article is about the Canadian non-profit. For the American venture capital firm, see Actua Corporation. For the series of computer games, see Actua Sports. For the Spanish political party, see Actúa.

Actua is a Canadian charitable organization^[1][2] that delivers science, engineering and technology educational programs to young people in Canada.^[3][4][5]

The organization is a member of the Science and Technology Awareness Network (S.T.A.N.). Actua's president and CEO is Jennifer E. Flanagan.^[6]

Organization

Programs

Actua's programs use hands-on activities in fields such as health, mining, biology and ecology.^[7][8] The majority of member organizations also travel outside the urban centers where they are located to deliver camps and workshops in rural and remote communities.^[9]

The programs include:

• National Mentorship Program^[5][10]
• National Aboriginal Outreach Program^{[11][12][13][14]}
• National Girls Program^[15][16][17]
• Go Where Kids Are Program^[18][19]

In July 2021, Actua was awarded a $50,000 grant to develop "vaccine safety content" targeted towards students and teachers to combat vaccine hesitancy.^[20] The funding was administered jointly by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council through the "Encouraging vaccine confidence in Canada" COVID-19 vaccine funding program.^[21]

Membership

Actua operates on a membership structure, consisting of member organizations located at 31 university and college institutions across Canada.^[22] Actua's member programs are delivered by undergraduate and high school students^[23] through science camps and workshops, which are customized to the needs of local communities.^[11]

The program has 34 members throughout the various provinces and territories of Canada.

Alberta

• Lethbridge: Destination Exploration at the University of Lethbridge
• Edmonton: DiscoverE at the University of Alberta
• Calgary: Minds in Motion at the University of Calgary
• Red Deer: Science Promotion at Red Deer College

British Columbia

• Kamloops: EUReKA! Science Program at Thompson Rivers University
• Vancouver: GEERing Up! at the University of British Columbia
• Burnaby: Science AL!VE at Simon Fraser University
• Victoria: Science Venture at the University of Victoria

Manitoba

• Brandon: Mini University at Brandon University
• Winnipeg: Eco-Kids at the University of Winnipeg and WISE Kid-Netic Energy at the University of Manitoba

New Brunswick

• Fredericton: Worlds UNBound at the University of New Brunswick

Nova Scotia

• Halifax: SuperNOVA at Dalhousie University
• Antigonish: X-Chem Outreach Program at St. Francis Xavier University^[24]

Nunavut

• Iqaluit: Simply Science at the Nunavut Research Institute

Ontario

• Ottawa: Adventures in Engineering and Science at the University of Ottawa and Virtual Ventures at Carleton University
• Guelph: Creative Encounters at the University of Guelph
• London: Discovery Western at the University of Western Ontario
• Toronto: Engineering Outreach at the University of Toronto and Science Explorations at York University
• Waterloo: ESQ at the University of Waterloo
• Kingston: ASUS Camps at Queen's University
• Thunder Bay: Superior Science at Lakehead University
• Hamilton: Venture Engineering and Science at McMaster University
• Brantford: SNP STEAM Academy at Six Nations Polytechnic

Quebec

• Montreal: Folie Technique at École Polytechnique de Montréal
• Trois-Rivières: Génitrucs at Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières
• Laval: Musée Armand Frappier at Centre d'interprétation des Biosciences

Saskatchewan

• Regina: EYES (Educating Youth in Engineering & Science) at the University of Regina and FNU Health and Science Camp at First Nations University of Canada
• Saskatoon: SCI-FI Science Camps at the University of Saskatchewan

Yukon

• Whitehorse: Science Adventures at Yukon College

Awards

In 2000, Actua was awarded the Michael Smith Award by the National Science and Engineering Research Council.^[25][26]

In 2000, Actua submitted its programs to an independent evaluation process to measure their programs' effectiveness. The three-year research initiative surveyed student participants who revealed their experience with Actua programs.^[27]

In 2009, the Ontario Trillium Foundation named Actua and its 11 Ontario members the winner of the Minister's Award recognizing not-for-profit organizations that have had "an exceptional impact in their communities."^[28]