STEAM ICAC 2025 is tentatively scheduled for June 6th, 2025, from 8:30 am – 5:00 pm. It will be located at the Canoe Landing Center in Toronto.
Itinerary
Note: Presentations are occuring throughout the day from 10:00 am too 5:00 pm.
8:30 am – 9:30 am
Registration
9:30 am – 10:00 am
Opening Ceremony
10:00 am – 11:00 am
Career Interview Panel
10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Workshops
5:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Closing Ceremony
Learn More
Workshops
Medical Malady
Explore various diseases and disorders through engaging case studies. Participants will learn to recognize symptoms and key characteristics to identify each condition while building a foundation in common medical terminology.
Spectra Quest
Participants will learn about light refraction and chemical properties of substances and build their own light spectrometer using those principles. Once built, the spectrometer will be used to analyze and investigate properties of various materials with differing colors.
Innovation Enigma
Participants embark on a scavenger hunt in the area surrounding the event venue. Participants explore the various attractions in the area, taking on photography challenges at each destination, challenging their creative thinking. At the end of the event, the group/person with the best, accurate, and most creative photographs will be entered into a prize draw.
Steel Skies
Participants will work in groups of at least two to assemble a metal plane using a provided building kit. The kit includes detailed instructions and all the necessary parts to guide you through the process. Participants will learn about the different components of airplanes and their purposes. Once completed, the plane can be taken home!
Key to Discovery
Use dichotomous keys to classify various organisms. Analyze distinct features and navigate a series of choices to find each organism’s identity. Through this workshop, participants develop a thorough understanding of how biologists classify living organisms globally.
Highlights
Prompts
Astronomy
To advance human civilization to other planets, it’s crucial to gather accurate data on planetary systems. Since stars play a significant role in solar systems, gathering accurate information about them is essential. Thus, we often use star clusters as a controlled environment to study stars more effectively. However, star clusters are currently classified based on observational data such as size, age, and density. How can the classification methods of star clusters be improved in order to gain a deeper understanding of their life cycles and their role in galactic evolution? What additional observations need to be collected for an improved classification method? How can we classify star clusters to draw useful conclusions from each classification category?
Engineering
More and more cities around the world are becoming urbanized. However, a growing population means excess strain on the municipal infrastructure; this leads to a higher cost of living and worse quality of life. Thus, many cities have started expanding underground in order to meet the increasing demand for space. How can a suburban area expecting rapid urbanization utilize underground space to better the quality of life for the residents? Which services or components of the city should be moved underground? How can the underground and overground components of the city have seamless integration with one another? What sort of a city plan for constructing underground spaces in an urbanizing suburb is efficient, cost-effective and safe?
Life Sciences
There are approximately 12,000 new cases of cerebral palsy annually. Furthermore, 80-90% of the individuals diagnosed with CP struggle with daily activities that require the use of fine motor skills such as eating, brushing, etc. Although there are many assistive technologies for individuals with CP, they are too task-specific. This is often inconvenient and makes it difficult for individuals to be independent. What kind of assistive technology can allow individuals with CP perform the wide range of movements needed for everyday life? What can be done to make this device versatile, discreet and easy to use?
Criteria
All criteria are marked out of 5 except sustainability which is marked out of 8. There are a total of 33 points that can be awarded.
Report
The report is properly organized and well structured with the problem, methodology and solution outlined clearly. Diagrams, descriptions and explanations are in-depth and are logically arranged to effectively communicate ideas. The report follows the 10-page limit (size 12 font in Times New Roman, 1-inch margins, single-spaced, word limit of 6000) and grammatical conventions while maintaining a high degree of coherence.
Presentation
The presentation is engaging throughout and clearly communicates ideas. Delivery is creative, with effective use of visuals and multimedia. The presenter(s) is/are well-paced (presentation is within the given 10 minute time limit) and respond thoughtfully to questions.
Model
The model demonstrates precision and attention to detail, effectively applying concepts and ideas to communicate a feasible solution to the problem. The model is cohesive and logically organized to represent the solution appropriately. The model is within the given size limit of 50 x 50 x 50 cm.
Scientific Application
Relevant scientific concepts are thoroughly explained and correctly utilized, demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of the problem. The solution is efficient and well-researched, with thorough analysis of scientific principles.
Innovation
The project is original and creatively builds on existing concepts and ideas to create an effective design for the problem. The design considers various factors related to the project (social, economic, political, etc.) and reflects forward-thinking principles, anticipating future needs and developments.
Sustainability
Project planning involves the exploration of topics such as resource efficiency, long-term viability, sustainable use, etc. The model is also constructed sustainably with the thoughtful use of recycled materials and practices.