Youth in Winnipeg’s inner city now have the opportunity to learn in a laboratory equipped with the latest in scientific equipment, developed through a partnership between the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Medicine, the Winnipeg School Division and the Winnipeg Foundation.

The Winnipeg Inner-City Science Centre (ICSC), located in Niji Mahkwa School on Flora Avenue, will bring students together with university professors, graduate students, and science enthusiasts, using the same sophisticated equipment as the medical campus. The Centre promotes science and medical literacy among the public and educators, serving as an on-site teaching and training location for excellence in science. In the process, the Centre breaks down barriers for inner-city, Aboriginal and new Canadian students to explore the field of science and consider careers in the health sciences professions.

The Centre builds on the Biomedical Youth Program launched by the Faculty of Medicine in 2006, which targets Aboriginal and inner-city youth-traditionally under-represented in science and medical fields-and introduces them to bio-medical career opportunities.

Francis Amara, biochemistry and medical genetics, has spent the last five years building support for the ICSC including launching the Science Buddies Program in inner-city schools three years ago. With the development of the Inner-City Science Centre over the past year, the Science Buddies Program has expanded to 15 schools, including three on-reserve schools and one from a northern mining community.

“This community science facility is a place where everybody who wants to learn science can do so, for free. The reaction has been overwhelming,” says Amara. “It is very important for this community to take ownership and know that they can have one of the best science centres in the world, bringing learners together, bringing educators together and sharing knowledge and the pursuit of excellence.”

Amara’s vision of a community science facility is unique. While most school divisions and post-secondary institutions struggle to maintain individual labs and equipment, the ICSC provides any group with access to modern science facilities, technology and instruction, including a fluorescent microscope and Manitoba’s first flash gel system for sorting DNA.

“This is a tremendous learning opportunity for the students and extended community of Niji Mahkwa School, as well as students from communities across Manitoba,” says Jackie Sneesby, chair of the Winnipeg School Division’s Board of Trustees. “What better way for Manitoba’s next generation of medical and scientific minds to learn than alongside professors and graduate students who are already dedicated to these fields. I know that the students of Niji Mahkwa School-especially the members of their Science Buddies club-are eager to don their lab coats and learn on this centre’s cutting edge equipment.”

Each week, approximately 30 to 40 students take part in hands-on science experiments after school or as a field trip using top of the line bio-tech equipment ranging from a spectrophotometer (to check the purity and concentration of plasmid DNA) to an incubating orbital shaker (to grow bacterial culture) to a centrifuge (to separate cells or bacteria).

“The Winnipeg Foundation has been pleased to support this innovative, grassroots approach to education and community-building,” says Richard L. Frost, CEO, The Winnipeg Foundation. “Dr. Amara’s vision for an Inner-City Science Centre is inspiring and the potential to improve career and education prospects for at-risk youth is exciting. The project also has tremendous scope and the power to engage and bring together learners of all ages and teachers at all levels.”

The $150,000 Inner City Science Centre is the result of a partnership between the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Medicine, the Winnipeg School Division and the Winnipeg Foundation. Additional funding has been received from the Aboriginal Human Resources Initiative, Province of Manitoba Department of Innovation, Energy and Mines, and multiple private donors.

For more information contact Ilana Simon, director, communications & marketing, Faculty of Medicine, at: 204-789-3427 or cell 204-295-6777