After touring for five years, Science North is bringing Our Climate Quest: Small Steps to Big Change to Dynamic Earth until Nov. 14, with hand-on exhibits, interactive challenges and ‘powerful stories of climate action from across Canada’
At the homecoming of Science North’s climate-change-based travelling exhibit, the science centre’s CEO, Ashley Larose, told the group the project wasn’t any old exhibition.
“It’s a movement that’s traveled more than 42,000 kilometres across Canada, visiting 51 communities, and it’s inspiring,” she told the crowd at Dynamic Earth on Nov. 7.
Science North CEO Ashley Larose speaks at Dynamic Earth for the Nov. 7 homecoming of the traveling exhibit, Our Climate Quest: Small Steps to Big Change, which has just come back to Sudbury after five years of crossing the country. Mitch Seguin, Science North’s director of operations looks on in the background. Jenny Lamothe
The exhibit, Our Climate Quest: Small Steps to Big Change, has just come back to Sudbury after five years of crossing the country, no matter the size or remoteness of the community.
In fact, not only did they design the exhibition to be sustainable, reducing its carbon footprint, but it came in two sizes: 600-square metres for larger urban centres and 100-square metres for more remote areas.
Exhibition is available at Dynamic Earth until Nov. 14 and included with admission to the science centre
The project aims to teach ways to contribute to Canada’s stated goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and has reached 500,000 participants through hand-on exhibits, interactive challenges and powerful stories of climate action from across Canada, said a release from Science North.
And Sudburians can also take in the permanent Climate Action Show, Science North, described as a 20-minute immersive and interactive multimedia experience, as well as taking part in the Our Climate Quest digital campaign, featuring web-based content and social media posts.
It’s about accessible and actionable climate solutions and “paths to action,” empowering youth and families, said Larose.
And it was a path that seemed to come full circle that David Pearson noted when he spoke with Sudbury.com at the event.
David Pearson, founding director of Science North watches the homecoming ceremony for the travelling exhibit Our Climate Quest: Small Steps to Big Change held at Dynamic Earth on Nov. 7. . Jenny Lamothe
The founding director of the science centre and emeritus professor in the department of earth sciences at Laurentian University, Pearson said 40 years ago, Science North was one of the first in Canada to have “a public program concerned about climate change.”
“This journey comes after 40 years of involvement in communicating the importance of climate change. We were there before most of the science museums and community organizations,” he told Sudbury.com. “So I’m very proud of the continuity that we’ve been able to establish.”
Did he have any idea that his work to bring science to the citizens would grow quite so large as to travel across the country?
After pausing for a moment, he replied: “No,” with a laugh.
But he’s grateful there is a counter to the “misinformation and disinformation” that many young people are hearing.
Larose told the group that the exhibit “leads us to explore how climate change is active, is affecting our world, and how each of us can make a difference through action and understanding.
She said the message of the quest, “small steps to big change” reflects the “Indigenous teachings that every action matters, that we are all connected, and that caring for the land waters values both a privilege and responsibility.”
For Craig Tyson, chair of Science North’s Northeast Indigenous advisory committee, it’s about bringing together two voices, speaking two languages, but saying the same thing.
“It’s about mirroring what our ancestors know and teach us, and really intertwining that within the sciences, because they’re both saying the same thing, just in different ways,” he said. “So how do we bring that together? (Visitors) are learning the hands-on and the verbal teachings of our ancestors, but they’re also getting the science that’s backing it up, it brings it into reality, and they’re seeing the changes in our climate day to day.”
He said the small steps are especially successful with young people.
“It’s something that they feel that they can be involved in and make a change,” he said. “If you talk about the bigger actions, they tend not to feel involved; they can see it, but there’s nothing that they can do.
But the smaller actions, “like picking up litter, using reusable water bottles, lunch containers, just small stuff like that, they feel more involved, a bigger part of the change.
Students from Alexander Public School were on hand Nov. 7 to explore the Climate Quest exhibit as it opened at Dynamic Earth after five years on the road. Seen here are (in front) Violet Camilucci, 10, (second row back to front) Clara Savignac, 10, Harper Orser, 10, Lucy Gleason, 10 and Ezri Richard, 9. . Jenny Lamothe
And for the future scientists inspired to perform small acts in the name of Climate Change, a few words of advice from Pearson.
“I think what’s important for them not to be distracted by the nonsense that we’re hearing: leaders quite close to us who speak about climate hysteria when really what they should be doing is looking at the data,” he told Sudbury.com
He said science is more important now than it’s ever been, “enormously important,” he said, and that climate change research is “top of the list.”
“And again I say to them not to be distracted by the misinformation and the disinformation that’s floating around. They need to have the courage of their convictions and to speak in their families and to speak with their representatives and make it quite clear that it’s their future that’s at stake,” said Pearson.
“It’s not my future. I’ve lived most of my life. What I do in climate change is for my grandchildren and their grandchildren,” he said. “And that’s the way that we have to look at it, but that’s also the way that they, the young people, have to look at it. They need to be involved for their grandchildren, because climate change will be an issue for centuries.”
You can find more information about Our Climate Quest: Small Steps to Big Change by clicking here.
Jenny Lamothe is a reporter with Sudbury.com.