Meet our Executive Director, Education and Development – Dr. Lynda Colgan!
Dr. Lynda Colgan is Professor Emerita, Faculty of Education, Queen’s University. Lynda is currently working on a number of research, resource-creation, and teacher-education projects, funded by the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), and the Mathematics Knowledge Network (MKN). She will carry on her long-established commitment to STEM outreach by continuing to seek out creative avenues to engage students, parents, and educators in STEM at home and in the classroom.
Lynda has an extensive history with Science Rendezvous, as the co-founder and coordinator of Science Rendezvous Kingston. This outstanding event grew from 500 people in 2011 to over 5200 people in 2019 and has been awarded a number of recognitions, including the inaugural STEAM Big! Award in 2019 and the COVID Creative Award in 2021. With the help of a committed group of volunteers and members, Lynda has coordinated Science Rendezvous Kingston for over 10 years. “This is what made Science Rendezvous Kingston so special to me”, she shares.
Lynda Colgan and Kim Barrett, co-ordinators for the Kingston Science Rendezvous, were awarded the STEAM Big Award on March 3, 2020. Meghan Balogh/The Whig-STandard/Postmedia Network
From a 40-foot dinosaur to a real astronaut, there is always something for everyone at Science Rendezvous Kingston. One of the highlights for Lynda was meeting Drew Feustel, who recently served as Commander on the International Space Station. In addition, Lynda has two favourite memories. The first was the square-wheeled tricycle built by first-year engineering students. “We could not believe it could move!”, she shares. The fact that this generated so many smiles and such disbelief was a very special highlight.
Her all-time favourite moment, however, took place in 2019 when she had the opportunity to go on a cherry picker and mount the Diplodocus (Dippy) for their display. “I make it a point to do something that shows that I want to learn and be involved”, such as being propelled 75 feet straight, riding a hoverboard powered by leaf blower and fire extinguisher!
When asked about joining Science Rendezvous National, Lynda shared: “The timing was very serendipitous. I made the decision in 2021 to retire from my teaching responsibilities at Queen’s. I am still involved with projects, but after two years of teaching online, I found it exhausting and not as rewarding. I need to do the things that really make me happy and that I love doing, and with the people I enjoyed being with. Other doors started opening up, like the opportunity to join Science Rendezvous National.”
In her new role of Executive Director, Education and Development, Lynda is hoping to establish more partnerships and sponsorships to highlight that Science Rendezvous is not a one-day wonder. “The perspective is that Science Rendezvous is a one day event and then, it is all over. I want to dispel the myth that Science Rendezvous just takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Saturday before Mother’s Day.” Science Rendezvous goes beyond our namesake festival. “When we look at the Million Tree Project, for example, there are such amazing resources that teachers and others could be using all year long and in so many ways.”
As Lynda puts it, “Science Rendezvous is a knowledge broker”. We take scientific knowledge out of the lab and spread it around into the public domain. Science Rendezvous particularly values bringing scientists, Indigenous Knowledge keepers and the community together to understand why science matters. “It is increasingly important to listen to what the science, whether it is Indigenous or Western, is saying to us and then we need to translate those messages in an accessible way to the average person on the street.”
Lynda has already become an invaluable member of the Science Rendezvous National team, and we are looking forward to a year of fruitful collaborations with our Science Rendezvous Partners.
