One of the First Montreal Girls' School to Acquire a 3D Printer

Girls at The Sacred Heart School of Montreal, a private Catholic high school for girls, will be some of the first to work on their own EKOCYCLE Cube 3D printer at school, thanks to a gift from 3D Systems and The Coca-Cola Company. The printer uses post-consumer plastics to create new objects, such as small robot parts. Robotics play a big role in introducing young women to the sciences. The students at Sacred Heart kick off a special extended Science Week Thursday, March 19 with their participation at the Montreal Regional First Robotics Competition. Some of the girls are also participating with boys from Loyola High School at the First Robotics Competition in Long Island, New York, later this month, thanks to a $5,000 grant from RBC Phillips Hager and North. The teenagers were given six weeks to design and build a robot for this contest, which involves thousands of teams from all over the world. 

Science Week at Sacred Heart will also include a presentation by McGill University professor, Lorne Trottier Chair in Astrophysics and Cosmology, and Canada Research Chair in Observational Astrophysics, astrophysicist Victoria Kaspi, on Wednesday, March 25. All members of the school community, including parents and alumnae are invited to hear this speaker.

Science is promoted at all levels at Sacred Heart, particularly during Science Week. Secondary I students will be presenting their science research projects to their schoolmates and faculty on Wednesday, March 25. Secondary II students will be participating in an all-day workshop on design and engineering at the Montreal Science Centre. Earlier this year, Secondary III students visited Concordia University for a presentation by Women in Bio, a group that promotes careers, leadership & entrepreneurship for women in the life sciences. They will hear a presentation by two neuroscientists on brain research, with a focus on the effects of drugs on the brain.