Tag: Mini University

Community Engagement

Freemason donation supports bursaries for BU Mini University program

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The Valley of Brandon Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in conjunction with the Scottish Rite Charitable Foundation of Canada have stepped up to support bursaries that will help children attend the summer Mini University camp programs at Brandon.

The local contribution is matching a donation made through the national organization: members of the Valley of Brandon Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry as well as the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry of Canada through the Scottish Rite Foundation have each provided $1,000 for a total gift of $2,000.

“Freemasonry is about equity and about access, especially for children,” said Dr. Balfour Spence, a BU professor and Freemason member who spearheaded the application to the Scottish Rite Foundation through Gordon Greasley, Deputy Sovereign Grand Commander for Manitoba and Nunavut Territory.

Community Engagement

STEM Lending Library at Mini U receives more than $150,000 in federal startup funding

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Brandon University’s Mini University program is expanding hands-on science and technology learning opportunities for youth and teachers across Western Manitoba thanks to new federal funding through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) PromoScience program.

Mini U has been awarded $153,000 over three years through the NSERC PromoScience program to establish a new STEM Lending Library that will provide K–8 educators with access to hands-on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning equipment and resources.

Awards and Recognition

Mini U celebrates summer success and national video contest win

Brandon University’s popular Mini University program is celebrating a banner year, welcoming 821 campers over the summer — 68 more than last year — and capping the season with a national contest win.

Mini U’s creative energy shone through in a short video produced by campers and staff, which was submitted to Actua’s 2025 Summer Video Contest. Out of entries from Actua network members across Canada, the Mini U submission was selected as the “Actua Staff Pick” winner.

Girls Can … program teaches scientific literacy

Brandon University’s (BU’s) Mini University is partnering with the Canadian Women’s Foundation to offer a free STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) program for girls ages nine through 13.
The Canadian Women’s Foundation is contributing up to $172,000 over the next four years for the Girls Can … program, which is designed to give girls confidence in a variety of STEM activities, including robotics, coding, game design, sound engineering and more. The program is structured to be safe, fun and non-judgmental as participants work with Mini U’s mentors to determine the direction of the sessions.

BU receives $95,000 to support coding education for youth

BRANDON – Westman youth will get a head start on learning the valuable skill of coding, thanks to $95,000 of federal funding received by Brandon University’s Mini University through Actua.
Actua, a not-for-profit organization that delivers youth programming in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, is distributing funding to 35 network members nationally after receiving $10 million through the federal government’s new CanCode program.