THE STEM JOURNEY | May 2026
Your monthly connection to youth STEM in Canada
In three weeks, 393 young scientists will walk into the Edmonton EXPO Centre carrying months of work and a particular mix of nerves and anticipation in their chests. Most of them don’t yet know what the week ahead will feel like. They’ve heard things. But they haven’t lived it.
Aaron Judah has. He walked into his first Canada-Wide Science Fair in 2000, won Best Project, and spent the next twenty-five years building a life. Last May in Fredericton, he walked back in, this time wearing a judge’s badge.
“It starts with you, it becomes about us, and then it becomes about those that come afterwards.”
That’s how Aaron makes sense of it now. When he competed, the fair was about proving something to himself. When he came back as a judge, he realized it had always been about something larger: a community that cycles forward, each generation passing something down to the next.
More than the projects, what he remembers — and what still impresses him most — are the students. Their confidence. The way they talk about their work. He went to Fredericton focused on a judging rubric. He left feeling like the experience had given him something back, just the way it had twenty-five years ago.
A message for the finalists — from you
We’re putting together a short alumni welcome video for the CWSF 2026 opening ceremony in Edmonton. Thirty to forty-five seconds on your phone — a word of advice, a favourite memory, whatever you’d want to hear if you were walking into your first Canada-Wide Science Fair. The deadline is May 15.
What’s Happening at YSC
CWSF 2026
May 23–30 at the Edmonton EXPO Centre and the University of Alberta. Three weeks until 393 students descend on Edmonton.
CWSF 2026 ambassadors announced
Meet the alumni heading to Edmonton to champion and support this year’s finalists.
What’s Happening This Month
Upcoming Opportunities
- TC-SIYSS 2026 (Deadline: May 30): Represent Canada at the Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar during Nobel Week (December 4–11). Open to Canadians aged 18–25 who have presented or published individual STEM research in the last 12 months. Travel and program fees fully covered by YSC. Apply now
- Summit Education 2026 (Deadline: May 17): Virtual summer programs in STEM for grades 8–12: research methodology, mentorship, and career exploration, with rolling admissions. Apply at summiteducation.org
- MILSET STEAM Photo Contest (Deadline: September 1): Capture a scientific phenomenon through your camera lens. Open to youth 13–25 worldwide, phone camera totally fine. Enter at milset.org
- Ellison Scholars Programme (Deadline: July 31): Full funding for undergraduate studies at the University of Oxford for exceptional young innovators. Learn more at eit.org
See all opportunities for more details
Worth Your Time
- Forty-plus years of judging, coaching, and organizing science fairs in Calgary. Chuck Buckley’s story is a reminder of the people who make CWSF possible. Read Chuck’s story
- More than 20 YSC alumni were recently recognized as regional and national winners of Ingenious+, the Rideau Hall Foundation’s national youth innovation challenge. A proud moment for this community and a reminder that the STEM journey doesn’t end at the display board.
- Research from Harvard Business School has a counterintuitive take on pre-performance nerves: trying to calm yourself down tends to backfire. Timely reading for anyone standing in front of a judge in three weeks.
This Month’s Thought
The finalists heading to Edmonton don’t yet know what Aaron knows. They can’t. That’s the point. But somewhere in that week, in a conversation with a judge, a late night with students from another province, a moment at the display board when the explanation finally clicks, something will happen that stays with them for the next twenty-five years.
Go find it.
— Stuart
P.S. If you competed at CWSF and want to be part of the opening ceremony welcome video, the deadline is May 15. It’s a thirty-second recording on your phone. Hit reply if you have questions.