“My family is a STEM family,” Hasan says with a chuckle. It all started with science-loving twins, Sarah and Judy, now 8 years old. Lynda Colgan, a lead organizer for Science Rendezvous in Kingston and PhD supervisor to their father Hasan Kettaneh, had taken the girls under her wing. As their friend and mentor, Lynda showed Sarah and Judy science videos and invited them to her various experiments and activities, including Science Rendezvous. Their older siblings, Ibrahim and Seham, were also hooked. The whole family was enamoured of Lynda’s stories and science experiments.
Then, Ibrahim and Seham began to work with Lynda with her various S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) endeavours, along with volunteering at Science Rendezvous. With two years of Science Rendezvous volunteering under their belt, Ibrahim and Seham reflect fondly on their experiences.
“What inspired me to volunteer was that I recognized the benefits of Science Rendezvous and how it inspired the community,” says Ibrahim, 16, having observed how it has made a positive impact on the Kingston community as well as the wider Canadian community. Both Ibrahim and Seham were immersed in the Science Rendezvous experience, chatting with all the kind and intelligent instructors hosting the many booths, stations and activities. These conversations inspired them.
In addition to being a volunteer, Seham, 14, is also a Science Rendezvous ambassador in her school district. She helps promote the annual event by word of mouth and by distributing posters at her school. “Before volunteering, I had attended three Science Rendezvous events, which deepened and expanded my knowledge on various topics,” she says on why she was inspired to volunteer.
As a father, scientist, pharmacist and medical educator himself, Hasan appreciates what Science Rendezvous does every year in Kingston. “I know how kids are engaged and involved in these activities,” he says, adding that the event inspires kids and families alike to learn more about S.T.E.M., how to get involved, and how to conceptualize some of the ideas they are already thinking about.
Ibrahim was the only high school student who participated in the international hackathon, Robocon, where he teamed up with three University of Toronto students to win third place. He has also created a Smart Box, a smart mailbox that disinfects and protects incoming packages, and is currently looking into scaling it up for mass manufacturing. “My favourite memory is learning about how we are using rovers and different technologies from space to benefit the environment,” says Ibrahim of Science Rendezvous. “This is fascinating because we may be able to benefit from experimenting in space even more than we already have, like when we conducted experiments on fighting cancer by leveraging the microgravity of space.”
These experiences have emphasized the impact of these annual events for Ibrahim. “I believe Science Rendezvous is important because it demonstrates how science affects our daily lives and standards of living through thousands of hands-on experiments, interactive lab tours and engaging demonstrations,” says Ibrahim. He adds, “What is next for me is continuing to engage in events like these and continuing my work in innovation and helping improve the lives of others.”
Seham has just graduated from Module Vanier with a French award and is now a ninth-grade student at Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute, where she is already engaged in many school clubs related to S.T.E.M. or leadership, such as Student Association, Model UN and yet another focused on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Outside of school, she has harnessed the power of Glocalization Hub, a platform her parents created to bridge knowledge-seekers with knowledge-providers to improve employability, in order to connect frontline healthcare professionals with social scientists to help with data collection, analysis and report-writing.
“All my experiences and memories at Science Rendezvous have been positive ones,” she reflects. Her favourite memory is from last year, when she participated in a fun and creative survey where people were asked to choose random food preferences and based on those answers, the computer would choose a flavour of chips for them to eat. Seham adds that Science Rendezvous has proved to be an inclusive event for all Kingstonians to attend and “helps teach the community about these advancements in technology, health and life sciences, and engineering in a fun and accessible way.” As well as graduating with an IB Diploma and Honours certificate in Bilingual Studies, Seham hopes to lead more Science Rendezvous activities, perhaps even an entire Science Rendezvous event!
With all the incredible endeavours the Kettaneh family is undertaking to combat COVID-19, including an affordable ventilator for COVID-19 patients that Hasan created with the inspiration of his twins, we are happy to have the Kettanehs as a Science Rendezvous family. We appreciate all the ways the Kettaneh family has helped Science Rendezvous flourish, along with 6000 other volunteers we have across Canada! Make sure to meet some more of these wonderful volunteers at our next Science Rendezvous event on May 8, 2021.
“Believe me,” says Hasan, “most of our innovations that our family has been involved in since COVID-19 hit are inspired by Science Rendezvous involvement and activities, and driven by the curiosity of my science-loving twins Sarah and Judy.” Be sure to keep your eyes out for our next story about all the projects this amazing Science Rendezvous family has taken on!
