The young students of the Nanan Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Academy were at the Saskatchewan Science Centre in Regina on May 11 to demonstrate their projects in coding, robotics, and 3D printing. 

“We had a pretty big group of Moose Jaw and Regina students that came together at the Science Centre and we had our showcase there,” explained Academy co-founder Shaun Nanan. “It was also a recognition of our industry sponsors, because they fueled our First Nations Family STEM Program. 

“That’s K+S (Potash Canada) and Enbridge, they provided sponsorship, and we had students from Cowessess First Nation working with us over the past year. They were demonstrating a lot of their projects, and the ages range from our youngest, so 7 years old, up to grade 9, so 14 years old.” 

Left to Right: Shaun Nanan, Co-Founder of Nanan Academy; Melissa Shepherd, K+S Potash Canada; Sandy Pinay-Schindler, Director of Education of Cowessess FN; Jo Overby; Chelsea Iatridis, K+S Potash Canada(L-R) Shaun Nanan, co-founder of Nanan Academy; Melissa Shepherd, K+S Potash Canada; Sandy Pinay-Schindler, Director of Education of Cowessess First Nation; Jo Overby; Chelsea Iatridis, K+S Potash Canada (photo courtesy of Shaun Nanan)

The showcase was open to the public, and Nanan said many visitors to the Science Centre were fascinated by the students’ work.  

Student projects showcased for the day included basic game creation using a block programming program called Scratch, more advanced game creation using the Python programming language, robotics projects using Edison Robot kits, and custom-built rovers using the Arduino microcontroller and Raspberry Pi single-board computer.  

Students used TinkerCAD to create 3D designs, which were 3D printed, and ventured even further into the intersection of art and technology by using an Artificial Intelligence tool called Suno to compose music. 

Nanan Academy collaborates with Holy Trinity Catholic School Division in Moose Jaw to support STEM education. The Academy has an after-school program and runs a summer camp at Holy Trinity’s Phoenix Academy building from July 29 to August 2. 

The First Nations Family STEM program currently has two communities participating — Cowessess and Piapot First Nations — where they attend class every weekend. 

“It was amazing, it was exciting, it was also very heartwarming for me to see what the students have accomplished,” Nanan added. “And they were all very enthusiastic and excited to show off their work.” 

Cowessess First Nation princess Pimâtisiwin Mequahquay demonstrates how her video game project works (photo courtesy of Shaun Nanan)Cowessess First Nation princess Pimâtisiwin Mequahquay demonstrates how her video game project works (photo courtesy of Shaun Nanan)