The breadth of our partnerships, from local schools and nonprofits to municipal services and industry, demonstrated the deep community integration the award celebrates." - Associate Head, Kinesiology, Dr. Robert Gumieniak
Each year, the Science Rendezvous community event held at the University of Guelph-Humber (U of GH) brings science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) learning to life for children, youth, and guests of all ages through interactive learning.
However, this year’s event stood out because not only did it feature fresh student-led interactive stations (with 70 per cent being brand new), but 2026 is also the year Guelph-Humber received the Science Rendezvous Community Champion Award for last year’s event.
“As a representative of the University of Guelph-Humber and the Kinesiology program, this recognition is especially meaningful,” said Kinesiology Associate Head Dr. Robert Gumieniak. “Our students played a major role in designing and delivering activities that connected health, movement, and science to the public. Seeing their growth, confidence, and impact affirmed the value of experiential learning and the community-focused mission we champion in the Kinesiology program.”
Each year, the free event is held in partnership with non-profit organization Let’s Get Together. It brings the community together and ignites children’s curiosity in STEAM learning, building foundational skills in problem solving, critical thinking, and creativity. From AI to robotics, to psychology and exercise science, and more, U of GH’s Science Rendezvous is the largest free family STEAM festival in Toronto's Etobicoke area. And for student volunteers, it’s also an opportunity to build leadership skills, to learn to distill scientific concepts into messaging that’s easy-to-digest, and to engage with the community.
“The event is presented in a fun and interactive way that encourages young learners to engage with science and stay curious,” Kinesiology student volunteer Sushmi Gajendiran said. “I wanted to help support an event that inspires curiosity and encourages others to learn more about science and health, while also helping the next generation enjoy learning.”
The Science Rendezvous Community Champion Award was given to U of GH because of the entertaining, accessible, and inclusive atmosphere that encourages the public to engage with science. For example, the event boasts robotics demonstrations, anatomy puzzles, planetarium shows, optical illusions, and sustainability activities.
Like its award-winning year, this year’s interactive stations included these plus 24 new activity stations. Stations included celebrating women in STEM, powering a circuit with a potato, and learning how the lungs work. There was also a crime scene in the new Guelph-Humber crime scene investigation space called “Who stole the Bear Paws!?”.
Additionally, there was an activity called “The Quest” where visitors received a sticker after completing a specific activity on each floor of the University and celebrated with a group photo at a professional photobooth.
Furthermore, the award recognizes Guelph-Humber’s ability to secure the support of numerous local organizations over the years, like the Ontario Science Centre, Astronomy in Action, Scouts Canada, Girl Guides of Canada, Humber Sustainability, Humber E-sports, Humber Engineering/Women in Engineering, robotics clubs, and more. Science Rendezvous at U of GH also continues to benefit the Tech4All program through Let’s Get Together to reduce e-waste by collecting and refurbishing computers for students in need.
The award also celebrated the University’s most impactful and community-centred event over the past decade (at the time), welcoming 801 attendees in 2025 – a 37 per cent increase in guests from the year prior. Contributing to this growth was the team of 148 people making this event possible, which comprised staff members, students, volunteers, community partners, and personnel from local organizations.
This year’s event was monumental with over 871 visitors, building on the momentum of last year’s success. Science Rendezvous 2026 was run by 210 volunteers, including U of GH students of all programs, community partners, and high school students.
Science Rendezvous 2026 welcomed new partners participating in activities, including Reptilia (it brought reptile friends visitors could learn about and pet), Toronto Water (it brought water robots and drones to teach visitors about Toronto’s water table), and the Humber Idea Lab (it conducted demonstrations with new technology and equipment).
“The breadth of our partnerships, from local schools and nonprofits to municipal services and industry, demonstrated the deep community integration the award celebrates. We also prioritized accessibility, inclusion, and diverse ways of knowing, including programming that highlighted Indigenous perspectives,” Dr. Gumieniak said.
For U of GH student volunteers, the experience was memorable.
“I initially started volunteering at Science Rendezvous last year to get involved with the school and I loved my experience so much [so I did it again],” Kinesiology student volunteer Julie Harris said. “It is so rewarding getting to speak with enthusiastic members of the community.”
Read more about Science Rendezvous 2025 here.
