Royal Canadian Institute for Science

😍 WOW what amazing submissions for our merch contest❗Congratulations and thank you everyone for your hard work 📣 It was so hard to select a favourite but we are thrilled to announce the official winner is Cyberabbit with their art nouveau inspired design 🥳 A special shout out to the audience favourite design from Fabulaurora ! Incredible work everyone! We can’t wait to see what else you create!

Stay tuned for your chance to purchase our merch with the winning design! 👀

Happy 🐢Turtle Tuesday 🐢! Can you spot the turtle? 👀

Answer in the comments ⬇️

If you see a turtle nesting in your area, contact local organizations like Turtle Protectors to get that nest protected and give them an extra chance of survival against an abundance of predators 🛡️🚧

Join us on September 11 for the launch of Our Green Heart by Diana Beresford-Kroeger, in conversation with Sheila Boudreau.
Co-sponsored by Royal Canadian Institute for Science and Random House Canada.

More details + tickets at ourgreenheart.eventbrite.ca

In this inspiring culmination of Diana Beresford-Kroeger’s life’s work as a botanist, biochemist, biologist and poet of the global forest, she delivers a challenge to us all to dig deeper into the science of forests and the ways they will save us from climate breakdown—and then do our part to plant and protect them.

🍿🎬 Lights, camera, action! Movie Nights presented by RCIScience and The Fields Institute kicks off in September. Join us every month to watch (or re-watch) some of our favourite films!

Stay tuned for more info 👀 https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/movie-night-moebius-tickets-1000214246737?aff=FB

Movie Night: Moebius Ride into another dimension with Argentine sci-fi/thriller film, Moebius, to kick off our first Movie Night presented with Fields Institute.

It’s 🐢Turtle Tuesday 🐢again–can you spot the turtle? 👀

Answer in the comments ⬇️

Turtles 🐢 vs duck 🦆 – who’s the predator and who’s the prey? Turns out, turtles will eat ducks BUT ducks will also eat turtles 🤯🔁

We could not do what we do without the generous support of our volunteers!❤️ Interested in supporting our mission, gaining experience and networking?

We’re looking for...
🎨 Graphic Design & Branding Volunteer
🎬 Volunteer Script Writer
💻 Website Volunteer
📸 Events Photographer

Learn more and apply now ➡️ https://www.rciscience.ca/volunteer

Happy 🐢Turtle Tuesday 🐢! Can you spot the turtle? 👀

Answer in the comments ⬇️

One thing we can all do to protect turtles is to help them safely cross the road! Just pick them up and safely deposit them on the other side in their direction of travel. But take care to pick them up away from their faces – all turtles can bite!

💡Turtles know where they’re heading, even though we don’t really know how they know 🤷

It’s another 🐢Turtle Tuesday 🐢! Refreshed from the long weekend? Are your eyes sharp enough to spot the turtle in this photo? 👀

Answer in the comments ⬇️

Freshwater turtles also need their rest–and the secret to their brumation, similar to hibernation, is taking in oxygen underwater or in mud through their…butts! 🍑 Aka “cloacal respiration.” ✨The more you know✨

A ✨treat ✨ for making it through another week: another science meme roundup. Send us your favourites!

We discovered our shelled neighbours and their nesting grounds as our turtle experts guided us on a leisurely walk through Evergreen Brickworks to share some turtle behaviour and ecology facts, what it’s like to be a turtle researcher and the life lessons these shell-dwellers can teach us.

What happens when general knowledge, current events and pop culture get a fun science twist at Some Questionable Trivia 🤔 Some un-questionable laughter😂 and mind-blowing learning 🤯! Who’s ready for the next one? 🙋

We had so much fun at our Turtle Walk, we’re renaming Tuesdays 🐢Turtle Tuesdays 🐢 Can you spot the turtle in this photos? 👀 We’re starting off with an easy one! 😍

Answer in the comments ⬇️

Painted turtles, native to Ontario, are not to be confused with red-eared sliders, which at first glance, look quite similar but are generally larger. This invasive species has been mainly introduced through pet release and are effective competitors against native turtles.

💡It’s always good to be informed before you (i) get a pet and (ii) accidentally or intentionally release that pet into the local ecosystem!

Start your week off right with a science meme roundup to cure those Monday blues ✨ You’re welcome ✨

Hey you! 🐶Don’t miss out on this paws-on experience with Toronto Dog Moms to discover how our dogs think–and how that can helps us be better trainers 🐾

Explore how dogs communicate, detect deception, show empathy, and even differentiate between big and small treat amounts!

Get your tickets now 🎟️https://bit.ly/paws-and-perception

It’s a bird🐦‍⬛ it’s a plane ✈️ it’s a…hospital? 🏥 We’re asking Orbis Canada's Dr. Hunter Cherwek everything we can think of about the world’s first and only flying eye hospital!

❓Submit your questions for Dr. Cherwek by July 19 to be featured in the video ➡️ https://bit.ly/orbis-questions

👀 Keep your eyes peeled for !

🐢 We’re shell-ebrating the turtle experts who’ll be guiding our walk this Saturday to learn all about our shelled neighbours 🥰

Join the waitlist and subscribe to our newsletter to get early updates about upcoming events 👀

https://www.rciscience.ca/events/2024/turtle-walk

✨ About the Speakers ✨

Mariel’s fascination with turtles while doing field research on the long-term turtle monitoring project based out of Algonquin Provincial Park. Since then, she's spent countless hours trying to understand their mysteries and learn from their wisdom, completing her BSc and MSc in UofT’s Ecology and Evolutionary Biology department. Mariel now works for Ontario Parks and runs her grassroots organization Field Research in Ecology and Evolution Diversified (FREED), which aims to get more people excited about turtles, wildlife, and the outdoors.

Reta is a PhD candidate at McMaster University working on Blanding's Turtle conservation by weaving Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science to create recovery plans. She is a lover of all turtles and enjoys spending time in the great outdoors!

Get your tickets now before they sell out! 🥃

It's back! Join us and Royal Canadian Institute for Science on August 1st as we embark on an odyssey through fire and ice as our expert mixologist and chemist unveil the secrets behind crafting the perfect whisky-based cocktail and explore the science that elevates every sip into an Offworld experience. Don't miss out, these tickets sold out extremely fast last time!

Each ticket includes:
- 3 hour workshop
- Three cocktails
- Take home freezer door cocktail mix

Tickets: https://buff.ly/3WfZLEk

Unlock the secrets of how your dog thinks through interactive games inspired by real canine cognition research! 🐶

Join RCIScience and Toronto Dog Moms for a paws-on experience 🐾that reveals the fascinating ways our furry friends understand the world–and how that can help us be better trainers!

Get your tickets now 🎟️https://www.facebook.com/share/YtqzGD5c1jXwwJkZ/

📣 CONTEST ALERT❗ Design our merch! We’re celebrating our 175th anniversary this year and it’s time we get some swag with YOUR . 🥳

Check out our website for full contest and prize details ➡️ rciscience.ca/events/2024/design-our-merch

🐢Our upcoming Turtle Walk is currently fully booked but join the waitlist as spots often open up! 😯Thank you to everyone who signed up to learn more about these heroes in a half shell 🥰

Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to get early updates about upcoming events 📨

https://www.rciscience.ca/events/2024/turtle-walk

Summer is here–come out of your cocoon this Saturday and join EcoSpark in the beautiful outdoors to find, learn and contribute to research about one of our ecosystem's critical critters: caterpillars!

Explore how our data from local parks and backyards tell a bigger story from across the continent.

Saturday, June 22 from 2 PM – 5 PM at Brookbanks Library and Park.

Don't leaf us hanging–register now 🍃tinyurl.com/ecospark-caterpillars

Caterpillars Count! with Allen Hurlbert Project Director Allen Hurlbert of University of North Carolina joins EcoSpark staff in demonstrating the Caterpillars Count! project and discussing the project scope and findings to date for climate research. Following an indoor presentation...