This GivingTuesday, give the gift of education

November 24, 2022

Since its inception in 2013, hundreds of millions have participated in GivingTuesday, a global day for good, meant to inspire people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.

In 2021, $43.6m was donated online in Canada on GivingTuesday! We had a modest goal of raising $2,000 to fund the development of our new STEM programs. Thanks to the generosity of our donors and a matching campaign by Bob Williams,’ we more than quadrupled that number.

What’s our GivingTuesday goal for 2022?

Joicef Maderal and John Sico from TechVoc high school

This year, we’re hoping to raise $15,000 for our Access to Education fund. This fund supports aviation-based educational programming for 1,000 students from underserved neighbourhoods.

For just $15.00, you can fund one student’s trip to our museum for a ‘Take Flight!’ program and tour.

And, thanks to the Richardson Foundation’s matching campaign, your donation will be DOUBLED. They’ve generously agreed to match all donations, up to a total of $10,000.

What impact do our education programs have?

Our mission at the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada is to educate, inspire, and entertain. Our Take Flight! education programs are a big part of that and we can see the impact our programs have on students. They often leave more engaged in the subject matter being studied, inspired to continue learning, and with renewed focus.

We recently hosted a group of students from Tec Voc High School in Winnipeg for our Green Fuel Rockets program. Among them were Joicef Maderal and John Sico. Joicef and John are enrolled in TechVoc’s Aviation and Aerospace Technologies program.

John is hoping to get a scholarship to the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) and eventually become a pilot in the Canadian Air Force. But there’s a lot of competition for RMC scholarships. Programs like the one at Tech Voc, and those we offer at the museum, give Joicef and John a bit of an advantage.

Joicef calls herself a “hands-on learner.” She’s planning to become an aircraft maintenance engineer (AME). Being able to get out of the classroom and learn through activities and experimentation, drives her enthusiasm and interest in a subject. She says that when she can do an activity related to the subject matter being studied, it captures her attention in a way classroom learning doesn’t.

The importance of field trips

Carylann Assante, executive director of Student & Youth Travel Association (SYTA) and SYTA Youth Foundation, seconds the notion that real-world exploration outside the classroom can bolster students’ critical thinking skills. “Today’s students are visual learners, and a field trip lets them touch, feel and listen to what they’re learning about, which helps them build on classroom instruction, gain a better understanding of topics, build cultural understanding and tolerance, and expose them to worlds outside their own.”

Assante says field trips are particularly important for disadvantaged students, as they provide students with unique opportunities that level the playing field. “Field trips give diverse and financially-in-need students equal opportunity to experience things outside the classroom that their families may not be able to afford,” she says.[1]

Our role in inspiring the next generation

Aerospace is one of Manitoba’s largest economic drivers, contributing $1.1B to GDP in 2018. Our province is home to Canada’s largest aerospace composite manufacturing centre as well as the world’s largest independent gas turbine engine repair and overhaul company. Unfortunately, this economic driver may be at risk.

According to pre-pandemic studies from the Canadian Council for Aviation and Aerospace (CCAA), there is predicted to be a “major shortage of 55,000 skilled workers in Canada’s aviation and aerospace industry by 2025.” One of the museum’s goals is to develop strategies that will inspire the next generation to pursue careers in aviation and aerospace to offset this looming shortage of talent.

RAMWC and the Winnipeg School Division

Students from École Munro participate in our Science of Flight program

Earlier this year we entered into a partnership with the Winnipeg School Division. This partnership will provide opportunities for students to learn about and experience the aviation industry. The partnership focuses on educational programming that supports curriculum; exploration of careers and pathways to employment in the aviation industry; and engaging underrepresented groups, specifically Indigenous and female students, in the aviation industry and related careers.

Sylvia Martin, a teacher with the Winnipeg School Division and coordinator of aviation and aerospace programming at Tec Voc says of the partnership, “The main goal of this program is to increase exposure and learning of students of all different age groups, and all different socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, to the museum, the history of aviation, and to career pathways in aviation and aerospace.”

Of her students, Martin explains, “We have students from different backgrounds that would never have the opportunity to explore these types of careers and connect this type of learning to the classroom without the support of the Winnipeg School Division and the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada.

We want to expose them to the rich history that Manitoba has in the world of aviation and aerospace, connect them to amazing opportunities and expose and inspire them to opportunities they would have never thought of.”