Pueblo Science Running 6th Annual RISE Program to Improve Science Education in Southeast Asia


TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - May 26, 2016) - Pueblo Science is excited to announce the sixth annual Rural Initiative for Science Education (RISE) program. The program improves science education by training teachers in hands-on experiments using locally available materials that they can take back to their classrooms to better engage students in science. Six volunteers from Canada and five volunteers from Philippine universities will train 400 teachers and instruct 120 students across four provinces in the Philippines and Thailand from May 15 to June 7. In addition, Pueblo Science will host a science festival in the province of Ilocos Norte, Philippines, benefiting hundreds of elementary and high school students.

Since beginning the RISE program, Pueblo Science volunteers have worked with over 1000 science teachers from across the Philippines. Last year, the program expanded to Thailand and Guyana and the goal is to reach more countries across the world.

"When we first began our work in 2011, we only had a handful of members and volunteers who signed up to train 100 teachers in the Philippines," said Dr. Mayrose Salvador, executive director of Pueblo Science. "Now we have over 250 volunteers in Canada and overseas, and our team of instructors is currently working with teachers across the Philippines and Thailand. The very positive feedback from the teachers, the laughter and enlightenment that we see in student's faces after they attend our programs makes our members and volunteers incredibly proud to do this work."

Pueblo Science has been supported by the Impact Centre since 2010 and is the only charitable organization within the Impact Centre ecosystem.

About Pueblo Science
Pueblo Science is a Toronto-based registered charity working to advance science education in low-resource communities. By sparking an interest in science at an early age, their goal is to jumpstart fundamental changes in social attitudes about science and to help young students understand the impact of human activity on environment, health and communities.

About the Impact Centre
The Impact Centre is a research institute at the University of Toronto that strives to bring science to society through industry projects and partnerships, entrepreneurial companies, and unique training programs. We connect exceptional research, talent, innovative companies, and government to create products and services both for existing industry partners and as the basis for startups.

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Contact Information:

Mayrose Salvador
Executive Director
Pueblo Science Inc
mayrose@puebloscience.org

Scott McAuley
Communications Coordinator
Impact Centre
smcauley@imc.utoronto.ca

Pueblo Science volunteer Emina Veletanlic demonstrates the theory of general relativity to a group of science teachers in Davao City, Philippines