Young girl holding an animal skull and smiling

UTM hosts students for annual "Bring Our Children to Work Day"

Blake Eligh

On Thursday, April 27, 36 elementary school students attended UTM’s “Bring Our Children to Work Day” event. The group was part of more than 500 participants across the University of Toronto who enjoyed a day of fun and educational activities aimed at students in grades 4 to 7.

Nicolle Wahl, assistant director of communications, opened the day with a talk that  shared campus secrets and highlighted some of the fascinating research happening at UTM.

Radha Maharaj (also known as “Dr. M”) is an instructor with the Institute for Communication, Culture, Information and Technology, andis the author of several children's books on finance. She gave the students a lesson on the value of labour and employment in her popular “Kidnomics” session, participants playedthe role of employee or employer and traded labour, such as jumping jacks and pushups, for a wage.

UTM's Campus Police team taught a safety lesson before letting the students put out virtual fires. In a session led by Steven Rivera, assistant manager, campus security, and constable Shawn Kudrath, students attempted to put out a fire on an electric screen with a laser-pointer fire extinguisher. The best time of the day was 1.9 seconds.

Three teen girls standing together and smiling at the camera
Taking a break for physical exercise is an important part of student and work life. Participants took a dip in the pool at the Recreation, Athletics and Wellness Centre, followed by lunch in the Faculty Club with parents.

In the afternoon, students played mind games with staff from UTM's Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre. Program manager Thomas Klubi, communications assistant Grace Xie and program strategist Kerrie Martin led a session that involved a wooden puzzle and a three-dimensional tic-tac-toe games to teach strategy and creative problem solving.

The day ended with a hands-on lesson in human and animal anatomy from medical illustrator and instructor Dave Mazierski of the Master of Science in Biomedical Communications program. Mazierski brought a travelling cart loaded with a selection of skulls, including human, pig, toad and wild boar, and a “pin the organ on the body” party game.

The annual tri-campus event is sponsored by U of T's HR & Equity Office, with additional support from UTM’s Office of the Vice-President & Principal and CAO and Chartwells.