Two UWindsor graduates crossing the country this summer with a travelling science expo have come home. The Power of Ideas Tour hits Windsor’s Canada South Science City through Friday, August 10.

The 2,000-square foot science exhibit was created by the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and Actua as part of a Canada150 signature initiative. It allows youth to explore the changing ideas about the universe and to experience how we investigate our world.

Ashley Turner (BSc 2017) was a UWindsor Let's Talk Science site coordinator and says she has enjoyed travelling the country, especially visiting the small towns, places she may not have got to experience otherwise.

“I really enjoy interacting with individuals in the exhibit, as it is just as much of a learning experience for me as it is for them,” says Turner. “I’m constantly looking for more information to share with them as new questions come up, which is the purpose of the exhibit because we want people to leave with more questions than they entered with.”

The tour offers hands-on experiences in science, technology and innovation to communities across the country. It started in January in Victoria, British Columbia, and will end in Ottawa in December.

Turner joined the tour in Brandon, Manitoba, in April and physics graduate Melissa Mathers (BSc 2015) joined in Thunder Bay, Ontario, in July.

Mathers, also a Let’s Talk Science volunteer, says it is a dream come true.

“I’ve always been engaged in science outreach and with this job, I’m engaging Canadians in conversations about physics,” she says. “I can’t believe I’m getting paid to talk about physics.”

As crew members, Turner and Mathers unload, set up, tear down, and facilitate the exhibit. It will be on display in Windsor’s west end at the newly re-opened Canada South Science City at 749 Felix Avenue from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through August 10.