Chelsey St. Pierre – The Suburban LJI Reporter
Bombardier’s “Women in Engineering” group held a science fair for the families of its employees. Over 1,000 attendees visited one of the company’s facilities located at 500 Côte Vertu Blvd. West in Dorval.
The fair was designed to encourage girls and boys aged from six to 14 to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Security personnel guided participants on a walk through the warehouse where dozens of planes could be seen up close, into an open area with over 25 kiosks set up by some 120 employee volunteers.
The Suburban attended a guided tour led by Bombardier spokesperson Christina Lemyre McCraw, Manager, Public relations and communications. “Volunteers took the extra steps to find ways to make science fun for kids at this event. Bombardier supported the idea as it wants to be proactive in supporting initiatives to stimulate interest from youth,” she explained as she pointed out the various activities and kiosks.
The in-house initiative, organized entirely by Bombardier team members, introduced the attending employees’ children and spouses to the Ecojet research platform, aircraft configuration, industrial design, thermodynamics and aerodynamics with kid-friendly comprehensive activities and demonstrations at the various kiosks.
Participants were also able to “fly” via virtual reality headsets.
T-shirts along with other souvenirs were handed out to children at table-stops set up throughout the fair.
According to Kathleen Dussault — Technical expert in aircraft architecture and organizer of the science fair, the event was launched with the aim of challenging young people to consider the world of science for their future careers.
“We want to give them a taste of what the outcome of their studies could be. They can see what all the hard math, homework and science studies amount to in their future experience,” Dussault told The Suburban. n