Canada's first man in space, Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau tapped into his own experiences to get a group of London students excited about science and technology.
The former astronaut spoke to 50 Grade 7 and 8 students at Arthur Ford Public School on Wednesday. The students were taking part in Energy4Travel, a Canada-wide research project developed by Let's Talk Science.
"We need lots of young people who are interested and curious about what they can do," Garneau told the group while discussing the future of autonomous cars.
As part of the project, students recorded their transportation data and used it to calculate their personal energy consumption. They then compared their consumption to that of Garneau and Waterloo-based race car driver Amy Castell, who was also on hand.
"We need to talk more to young people about how they can help to shape the future," says Garneau. "Whether it's to help people be healthier, where it's to help in my area of transportation, all of those things depend on kids being interested enough in science that when they grow up they decide to follow that path."
Students were eager to ask Garneau about his three trips to space in 1984, 1996, and 2000.
"They wanted to know what was the scariest thing about going up into space and what kind of experiments I did when I went up into space," says Garneau. "I hope I have inspired some of the kids here."
Grade 7 student Braeden Thompson was one of the students to ask Garneau a question.
"It was a really great experience. To be able to ask the first Canadian ever in space a question is really cool," says Thompson.
He believes more of his fellow students would be interested in the fields of science and technology if the curriculum offered them more hands-on education like that offered by Let's Talk Science. That's sentiment was echoed by Castell.
"I wish that there were programs like this when I was in high school because I wasn't really aware of how involved the science, technology, engineering, and math fields are," says Castell. "They really do encompass every single field that you could be in."
Before meeting with students at Arthur Ford, Garneau addressed the London Chamber of Commerce. He was also scheduled to spend the afternoon with local politicians, including Mayor Matt Brown. It's unclear whether rapid transit would be on the agenda, but London's bus rapid transit system is on Garneau's radar.
"We definitely are committed seriously to public transit and London has a good project," says Garneau. "They [city officials] have to submit it and work with the province and the province work with the federal government to decide which ones go ahead."