Skills Exploration Days

Check back for 2022 dates!

The purpose of Skills Exploration Days is to:

1) Inspire junior high students to identify inherent skills and interests.

2) Connect students’ skills and interests to trade and technology careers through interactive, hands-on experiences that promote creativity, empathy, and exploration.

3) Promote trade and technology careers as a valuable and rewarding career choice. 

Building on the Maker Day model and Alberta Education’s Career and Technology Foundations (CTF) Program of Studies, students will use the design thinking process to find a solution to the challenge in the classroom and will then build a prototype with tangible real life tools and materials at Skills Exploration Days. 

As students build their prototype, they will use skills acquired at various Learn-A-Skill stations. With assistance from their teachers, students will learn how to use tools, technology, and materials safely. Unlike other SCA programs, at Skills Exploration Days, there are no winners or medals, just the freedom to explore, make mistakes and try again!

How to Get the Most Out of Skills Exploration Days:

1- Be sure to check out the Skills Exploration Days Teacher Guide. This step by step guide will ensure all your questions are answered to ensure you have a successful Skills Exploration Days experience.

2- Expand your knowledge and learn about classroom implementation in the teacher resource: Taking Making into Classrooms: A Toolkit Fostering Curiosity and Imagination in Alberta Classrooms. 

 A special thank you to Susan Crichton and Deb Carter from the Innovative Learning Center at UBC for their inspirational work in the Maker Movement and for assisting in the concept and content development of Skills Exploration Days.