Checking in with Daniel Zhao!
Daniel Zhao, a long-time STEM champion and member of STEM Kids Rock, has had a pretty exciting summer and we thought it was be great to share his STEM journey with our SKR followers in hopes of inspiring someone else to get involved in the same programs next summer.
This past July, Daniel participated in the University of Toronto’s Jr. DEEP Summer Academy which is modeled after UofT's Da Vinci Engineering Enrichment Program (DEEP) Summer Academy for high school students. Jr. DEEP offers courses on cutting-edge topics in science, technology and engineering, with an emphasis on hands-on learning and runs out of UofT’s St. George campus, located in downtown Toronto. At Jr. DEEP, Daniel learned about properties of light and the relationships between frequency, wavelength, and energy. He created and tested out his own 3D glasses as well as holograms! Daniel also learned about use of still images in animation and created zoetrope. He learned about electricity, sound waves, and understood how they are created and transmitted, and how to create a DIY microphone using a matchbox! During his two weeks at Jr. DEEP, Daniel played jeopardy and built Kaleidoscopes. He learned about mirrors, reflections, and ray diagrams to understand the behavior of light. Daniel also created an elephant toothpaste to demonstrate properties of exothermic chemical reactions. In addition, Daniel explored different techniques used by film producers to create special visual effects! He worked in groups and used Filmora to create and showcase his own short films. They also visited the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre to learn about its history, design, and restoration.
As many of our readers know, Daniel’s dream is to work at NASA so he makes sure to be involved in as many STEM activities as possible like SV Robotics at York University’s Science Program. Daniel was very determined and enthusiastic about starting his own little personal project. He wanted to invent a hat with a part that moves around the hat with the help of a servo motor, using a light sensor so that it moves in response to different amounts of light/sunlight shining on it.
Throughout the entire class he was researching about how to create this product and was constantly asking questions on the best way to go about it; he had also researched up the parts himself and was trying to create the circuit independently and almost accomplished it all by himself.
Of course, Daniel has been participating in STEM Kids Rock activities all summer. He helped in the week-long STEM Kids Rock Space and Science Camp at the Unionville Alliance Church. Daniel helped facilitate the different STEM activities.
He also supported various SKR Free Mobile Science events in York Region. At the same time, Daniel played an important role at Origami Canada. This organization does outreach along with SKR.
Daniel handles his dual tasks quite well. Daniel recently started attending the William Berczy Public School as a Grade 7 Gifted Class student, and he is also back to competitive swimming with Markham Aquatic Club. We don’t know how this young STEM star does all he does, and can’t wait to see what the future brings!
Want to volunteer with
STEM Kids Rock?
It's easy, just sign up on our website: www.stemkidsrock.com
Here are some of our upcoming events:
Youth and Parents Association of Markham 3rd Annual Mental Health Awareness Walk - Sept. 14 - 9:00am - Main Street, Unionville.
Science Literacy Week Event - Sept. 18, 2019 - Humberwood Branch - Toronto Public Library - 2:00-3:00pm
Science Literacy Week Event - Sept. 19, 2019 - Humberwood Branch - Toronto Public Library - 2:00-3:00pm
Science Literacy Week Event - Sept. 21, 2019 - Angus Glen Library, Markham - 10:00-1:00pm
Science Literacy Event - Sept. 21, 2019 - Box Grove Community Event - 2:00-4:00pm
