Actua (Canadian charity)

Actua is a Canadian charitable organization that delivers science, engineering and technology educational programs to young people in Canada.
The organization is a member of the Science and Technology Awareness Network. Actua's president and CEO is Jennifer E. Flanagan.

Organization

Programs

Actua's programs use hands-on activities in fields such as health, mining, biology and ecology. 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.
The programs include:

National Mentorship Program
National Aboriginal Outreach Program
National Girls Program
Go Where Kids Are Program

In July 2021, Actua was awarded a $50,000 grant to develop "vaccine safety content" targeted towards students and teachers to combat vaccine hesitancy. 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.

Membership

Actua operates on a membership structure, consisting of member organizations located at 31 university and college institutions across Canada. Actua's member programs are delivered by undergraduate and high school students through science camps and workshops, which are customized to the needs of local communities.
The program has 34 members throughout the various provinces and territories of Canada.

Alberta

Lethbridge: Destination Exploration at the University of Lethbridge
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]

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 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.
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.
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."