Science Everywhere – Anthony Morgan
Our first stop was Ryerson University, but not because an alumnus is a professor there. Nope—our alumnus simply uses a space in the university as a place from which to run his start up. This alumnus is Anthony Morgan.
Anthony graduated the SciComm program in 2014, back when it was still just a graduate diploma instead of a full-blown master’s (to be fair, the program only started offering a master’s option this year). But the beginnings of his start-up Science Everywhere began in 2013, when Anthony and his friends vacuum-sealed Anthony to the window of a hat shop in downtown Toronto. |
The event is called Freestyle Social, and is a combination of pub night, science café, and freestyle rap battle. In other words, Science Everywhere will rent out a bar for the night, and people who come can participate in a back-and-forth discussion on different hot-button science topics by choosing to be for or against the stated topic. And, oh yeah, there will be some professional freestyle rappers there as well to rap the arguments both sides come up with during the debate. |
Our next stop for the day was Ripley’s Aquarium. We got to explore the place for a couple hours, and then we met up with our other alumnus, Kevin McAvoy, for a behind-the-scenes tour. Kevin got the science communication graduate diploma in 2010 and began working at Ripley’s in 2013.
Of his various responsibilities, Kevin helps design the special exhibitions displayed at Ripley’s. The newest one, called Curious Creatures, will open in March. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of Robert Ripley’s newspaper cartoon series in 1918, and to commemorate this event, the Curious Creatures exhibition will showcase some of the bizarre animals Ripley discovered during his travels. |