Root & STEM Issue 2 Explores Technology and Health

Examining advances in mental and physical wellness through STEAM innovation

Pinnguaq Association has published Root & STEM, Issue 2, the second issue in a new publishing initiative promoting equity and accessibility in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEAM) education and innovation. This new STEAM resource and complimentary lesson plans, prioritizing diverse voices, are available for K-12 educators across the country. 

“We’ve developed Root & STEM as a valuable tool for educators, librarians, parents, and learners,” says Jennie Cross, Pinnguaq’s Director of Education. “With this issue, focusing on health and wellness, we’re pairing insightful storytelling with professionally-developed learning modules that showcase STEAM innovation, both in action and translated for the home or classroom.”

This issue features uniquely Canadian stories of science and technology’s impact on our physical and mental wellbeing, including: 

• Our Grandpa’s Story: Pierre Washie: a collaborative comic-style story telling by Tłįchǫ Dene author Richard Van Camp and illustrator/writer Kyle Charles from Whitefish Lake First Nation.
• The Victoria Hand Project: an innovative approach to prosthetic design and production, using 3D printing to produce limbs and parts in small and remote communities around the world.
• The Lucid Project: the story of a Toronto-based software company that uses music and light as part of a unique approach to helping people with mental health issues, inspired by the founder’s own challenges with manic depression and medication.
• Health Points: profiling a unique research project started in Thunder Bay that merges classroom learning and video games, to increase student engagement and success. 

“With quality internet access in remote northern communities an ongoing concern in Canada’s North, we continue to approach Root & STEM as a print-first publication,” says Pinnguaq Association CEO Ryan Oliver. “Bandwidth and screen time are not issues when we can deliver print copies directly to learners and educators, anywhere in the country.” 

Digital copies of Root & STEM Issues 1 and 2 are available on the Pinnguaq website and on Magzter.