Austin Ly (L), Kaelie Bittorf (C), and Troy Redshaw (R) welcome campers to the 2019 Science Summer Camps. Photo credit: John Ulan
Science Summer Camp instructors are passionate and enthusiastic about sharing their love of science with our camps of future scientists. Meet the instructors of this year's Minecraft summer camps.
Austin Ly
Program: BSc, computing science
Interests: Computers, games
What do you love most about science?
Electricity! I don't think I could survive without a microwave.
As a returning instructor to Science Summer Camps, what did you find fulfilling about the position in previous years/what made you want to return?
I found it most fulfilling when the campers would come up to me and ask questions as a result of what we went over during the classrooms-it made me feel like I'd had a real impact on their creativity.
What is your favourite memory from instructing camps in previous years?
My favorite would be that in following weeks, my previous campers would come up to me and tell me about their days even if I wasn't their camp leader that week.
What was one of your favourite camp projects/activities to share with campers?
My favorite activity was definitely the last activity of every week for Minecraft where each of the campers would build their own houses by using a currency for the activity to buy blocks. Each camper would end up with very different houses.
Tell us a fun fact about you!
I have three pet turtles.
Kaelie Bittorf
Program: BSc, immunology and infection
Interests: Board games, reading
What do you love most about science?
I love science because it is a field that is always expanding! You can never know everything about science because there will always be scientists out there discovering new things.
What is your favourite memory from instructing camps in previous years?
My favourite memory from camps last year was "Dress-Up Friday" because the campers always had cool Minecraft gear.
What was one of your favourite camp projects/activities to share with campers?
I was really proud of the end-of-the-day Minecraft map that we created and the campers were always excited to wrap up every day by playing it. This map reinforced what we had learned that day and was the perfect finish to a fun day.
Tell us a fun fact about you!
I have a 10 year old cockapoo named Scampers!
Troy Redshaw
Program: BSc, physics
Interests: Ultimate frisbee, hiking, coaching, reading
What do you love most about science?
I love how science is in every aspect of life and its ability to explain how the world works. The amount of science that has gone into every technology we use is mind boggling. From cell phones, to MRI machines, to the modern fabrics we wear-it all came from an understanding of different aspects of science. Being able to learn about all this is fascinating.
Why do you think it is important to promote science to young people, and what makes you a good science mentor?
Many young people simply don't realize how awesome science is, but once they dig into it they discover all the cool aspects of it and just want to learn more. I'm a good mentor because I have always loved teaching people and pushing them to follow their passions.
Why did you want to work with Science Summer Camps?
I want to get kids excited about science, and the best way to do that is with Science Summer Camps. The camps are a great fit for my interests and background as well as being fun and informative for kids.
Can you tell us a fun fact about your favourite scientist or scientific discovery?
Albert Einstein is most known for his discovery of relativity, but won his only Nobel Prize for his discovery of the photoelectric effect, where the emission of electrons when light hits a material.
Tell us a fun fact about you!