Praxis, The Science and Technology Hotline, is your link to the educational and scientific communities in South Eastern Alberta.
The Praxis Society's vision is to provide positive science experiences and support to our area residents, especially youth, through facilitating or providing access to science and technology resources.
We have numerous programs to connect not only classrooms but also the general public with science knowledge and activities. Click on our Services menu option for more information.
Praxis events include Family Science Olympics (October - all family members and ages), Operation Minerva (January - grade 9 girls), Science Fair (March - grades 4-12), & Operation Thoth (April - grade 9 boys).
Our motto is "Making Science Fun" click here for some fun links and videos and a large collection of useful STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) and education linksare here.
*Praxis (noun): The process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted, practised, embodied, or realized.
Breaking NEWS!! via Facebook May 17, 2010 3:00 PM
Medicine Hat students win Gold and Silver at Canada Wide Science Fair. Alannah Maurer, Praxis Society Director and Science Fair Committee member is one of two chaperones accompanying our 4 students to the Canada Wide Science Fair in Charlottetown, PEI and she just posted on our PraxisMedHat Facebook page the following:
“Congrats to Kate Berger & Jasveen Brar, winners of a Challenge Award in the Environment category and a GOLD excellence medal at Canada-Side Science Fair in Charlottetown, PEI!!!! (btw: gold medal winners also received a Blackberry Playbook from the sponsors RIM).”
"Rachel Brown (MHHS) & Katie van der Sloot (McCoy) won silver excellence medal at Canada Wide Science Fair in Charlottetown, PEI!!!"
Canada Wide Science Fair Winners with their medals!
L to R: Rachel Brown, Katie van der Sloot, Jasveen Brar & Kate Berger
Jasveen Brar & Kate Berger
Rachel Brown & Katie van der Sloot
Kiwanis Regional Science Fair Winners with the presenters
L to R: Rachel Brown, Susan Rowsell, Kate Berger, Jasveen Brar, Katie van der Sloot, Michelle Grigrat & Dr. Ken Sauer
May 4 Medicine Hat College
is now accepting registrations for their very popular Summer Camps for kids in both Medicine Hat and Brooks (and they now have some tech camps for teens and adults too). You can register on-line or phone them at 403-529-3844.
Click here to find out more or check out the College's Continuing Studies website.
FYI: Praxis supplies the learning kits for the courses.
May 2 Check out the new useful links added to our site.
May 1 World Asthma Day
Asthma is a chronic disease of the lungs that causes breathing problems. Symptoms of asthma include breathlessness, coughing, wheezing and a feeling of tightness in the chest. These symptoms vary in frequency and severity. When the symptoms are not under control, the airways can become inflamed making breathing difficult. While asthma cannot be cured, the symptoms can be controlled, enabling people with asthma to live full lives. Positive steps for coping with asthma:
Prepare a personal asthma management plan with the help of a doctor.
Take relevant medications prescribed by your doctor which relieve symptoms of asthma and control related inflammation and swelling of the airways.
Educate yourself about the risk factors of asthma which can bring on symptoms and make the condition worse.
Learn to recognize when the symptoms are becoming worse.
On April 20th Praxis hosted our 2nd annual Operation Thoth (click the link for more information) for grade nine young men in South East Alberta. Pictures, information and links to supporting organizations and business may be found by following this link: 2012 Operation Thoth Conference.
Our corner of the province is unique in that we have the lowest percentage of male students enrolling in post secondary institutions. In order to begin to help address this concern Operation Thoth provided 30 grade 9 boys from our service area with the opportunity to tour job sites that had as their basis a significant component in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematical (STEM) fields. We wish to thank Dr. Peter Wallis and the volunteers at Medicine Hat College, Ms Marena Watts and the staff at Cypress View Vet Clinic, Mr. Peter Donnally and the staff at Cancarb Ltd. and Mr. Dylan Richards and the staff at Meggitt Trainings Systems Canada for the wonderful opportunity that they afforded the Operation Thoth participants.
Please contact us if you are a business in South East Alberta that has a STEM component and would be willing to have our group of supervised grade 9 young men tour your site in future Operation Thoth conferences or grade 9 young women in future Operation Minerva conferences.
We wish to acknowledge the Sunrise Rotary Club of Medicine Hat. Without their support the Operation Thoth Conference would not have been possible. If you are a business in our end of the province and are wishing to support future Operation Thoth or Operation Minerva either through cash donations or providing business momentos, promotional items or coupons for our participating students, please contact us.
Voluntary ban on Triclosan called by Federal Government
2012-04-02 Medicine Hat News' Peggy Revell interviews Rachel Brown and Katie van der Sloot.
Canada Wide Science Fair 2013
March 30, 2012 Lethbridge was announced as the location for next year's CWSF 2013. On hand were the Honourable Greg Weadick, Albert Minister of Advance Education and Technology, various other dignitaries and CWSF officials and Medicine Hat's Rachel Brown and Katie van der Sloot.
On January 30th Praxis hosted our very successful 20th annual Operation Minerva (click the link for more information) for grade nine young ladies in South East Alberta. This conference provided them with the opportunity to job shadow women that work in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematical (STEM) fields in our part of the province during the morning and participate in workshops in the afternoon.
Huge thank you to the young ladies who participated in our very successful Operation Minerva, to our mentor volunteers, our presenter volunteers, the teachers and staff of MHHS who assisted us, the businesses and organizations who supported us and especially Lauren Hider and Linda Cooper, Co-ordinator of Operation Minerva. Pictures, information and links to supporting organizations and business may be found by following this link: 2012 Operation Minerva conference.
Please contact us if you are a women working in South East Alberta in a STEM related field and are interested in having a grade 9 girl job shadow you at next year's Operation Minerva. And if you are a business in our end of the province and wish to donate momentos and other advertising items to our participating girls, please contact us.
Katie van der Sloot and Rachel Brown December 12 issue of Maclean's
Way to go Rachel and Katie! Excellent promotion that increases the publics awareness of the dangers of triclosan; demonstrates the exceptional quality of people and projects in our Kiwanis Regional Science Fair; shows first hand the positive aspects of our common goal of benefits of studying Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (the STEM subjects); showcases the city of Medicine Hat and the young people in it in a positive light and reinforces why our up-and-coming Operation Minerva (the involvement of young women in the STEM subjects) is a very good thing. Click here or download the accompanying picture to read the full size article.
MHC Praxis Workshop
Thanks to the invite of Ms Sharon Allan, 33 MHC Education Students participated in a mini-workshop explaining Praxis and our services. The student were able to see first hand the motivation technique of cognitive dissonance (discrepant events) and the contents of some of our education kits prior to their professional round of teaching in SE Alberta schools.
We have had some excellent guest speakers talk to students about a variety of subjects.
Contact us if you'd like us to find a speak for your class or to volunteer to talk to students on Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (the STEM curriculum areas).
October 15, 2011 - Our 18th Annual Family Science Olympics was a huge success. This event was hosted by Praxis in the
Richard E. Taylor Science Wing of MHHS (5th Street entrance). Families (at least one participant older than 18) competed in ten Science events. Each event's participating family qualified for a draw prize. Families completing all ten events qualified for the major draw prize, a 22" computer monitor/tv. The Education Emporium on North Railways Street provide some of the prizes and the National Science & Technology Museum provided some free posters, t-shirts and light bulb stress toys that were handed out to volunteers and participants.
A thank you goes out to all the teachers who helped make our October Family Science Olympics the big success that it was. Informal surveys of the kids who participated indicated that APEGGA’s newspaper dome was the most popular event and in second place was a tie between the SEAWA water shed and the “Shakin’ and Quakin’” seismograph. You might have seen the over half page spread the Medicine Hat News ran with 5 full colour pictures on the Monday after the event. Click here to see the text of their article: http://www.medicinehatnews.com/local-news/the-family-business-hat-native-teaches-fun-and-fact-at-the-science-olympics-10172011.html
A huge thank you also goes out to both APEGGA and SEAWA for becoming our partners in this event. Additional thank-you must extend to our guest scientist Shalon McFarlane, the Praxis Board members who either attended or volunteered (or did both), the Medicine Hat College Students (and to the instructors and Karla at EUS who found the them) and the MHHS students(and to their teachers who found the them) who volunteered their time and effort.
Pictures and videos of the event will eventually be posted on our website.
September 24, 2011 Southridge Astronomy Club Sky Party
Praxis is please to announce the hiring of Mr. Lorne A. Cooper as the Regional Executive Director and Miss Linda Davidchuk as the Assistant Regional Executive Director. Both Mr. Cooper and Miss Davidchuk have long and successful careers in teaching in the Medicine Hat School District #76 system at Alexandra Middle School. They look forward to meeting and working with students and their teachers and other significant adults in the life of a child.
We have 4 Medicine Hat students representing our region. Best of luck to Katie van der Sloot, Rachel Brown, Jasveen Brar and Kate Berger, pictured here with their mentor Dr. Peter Wallis.
... helping promote Science Education in S.E. Alberta for over 20 years.
c/o 200 7th Street S.W.
Medicine Hat, AB T1A 4K1
Ph: 403-527-5365 Fax: 403-528-6570 praxis@praxismh.ca www.praxismh.ca
Facebook: PraxisMedHat Twitter: @PraxisMedHat
A founding member of:
Praxis: The Science and Technology Hotline
c/o 200 7th Street S.W. Medicine Hat, AB T1A 4K1
P. 403-527-5365 F. 403-528-6570 E. praxis@praxismh.ca
Twitter: @PraxisMedHat Facebook: PraxisMedHat
Kiwanis Regional Science Fair Winners with the presenters
May 4 Medicine Hat College
Asthma is a chronic disease of the lungs that causes breathing problems. Symptoms of asthma include breathlessness, coughing, wheezing and a feeling of tightness in the chest. These symptoms vary in frequency and severity. When the symptoms are not under control, the airways can become inflamed making breathing difficult. While asthma cannot be cured, the symptoms can be controlled, enabling people with asthma to live full lives. Positive steps for coping with asthma: 
On April 20th Praxis hosted our 2nd annual 
future Operation Thoth conferences or grade 9 young women in future Operation Minerva conferences.
Voluntary ban on Triclosan called by Federal Government
2012-04-02 Medicine Hat News' Peggy Revell 
Canada Wide Science Fair 2013
On January 30th Praxis hosted our very successful 20th annual 
Way to go Rachel and Katie! Excellent promotion that increases the publics awareness of the dangers of triclosan; demonstrates the exceptional quality of people and projects in our Kiwanis Regional Science Fair; shows first hand the positive aspects of our common goal of benefits of studying Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (the STEM subjects); showcases the city of Medicine Hat and the young people in it in a positive light and reinforces why our up-and-coming Operation Minerva (the involvement of young women in the STEM subjects) is a very good thing. 
Thanks to the invite of Ms Sharon Allan, 33 MHC Education Students participated in a mini-workshop explaining Praxis and our services. The student were able to see first hand the motivation technique of cognitive dissonance (discrepant events) and the contents of some of our education kits prior to their professional round of teaching in SE Alberta schools.
October 15, 2011 - Our 18th Annual 
Praxis was most pleased to attend the successful 
We have 4 Medicine Hat students representing our region. Best of luck to Katie van der Sloot, Rachel Brown, Jasveen Brar and Kate Berger, pictured here with their mentor Dr. Peter Wallis.
