• Passion from Within and Passion for Flight Challenges stimulates interest in science and technology; contribute to school retention

Today, L’Orée-des-Bois Elementary School and its students hosted a group of aerospace industry representatives and government stakeholders in Laval, Québec for a demonstration of the Passion from Within Challenge. With help from their teacher and adapted material, the Grade 5 students first learned about the forces that enable an aircraft to fly, identified the differences between various kinds of planes, got the opportunity to build their own paper gliders and tested their prototypes in the school’s gym.

Initiated by Bombardier employees and powered by Aéro Montréal since 2015, Passion from Within targets Grade 5 and 6 students, while Passion for Flight was designed for Grade 7 and 8 students. Both programmes share the same objectives: stimulating enthusiasm for science and technology among young people, encouraging school retention and inspiring students to pursue a career in a technological field, particularly in the aerospace industry.

Recognizing the value of these unique initiatives, the Government of Québec announced a $36 445 investment in the deployment of Passion from Within and Passion for Flight through the NovaScience programme.

“It is always a great pleasure to share our passion for aviation with future generations,” said Olivier Marcil, Vice President, External Relations, Bombardier Inc. “Thanks to the expertise of our dedicated employees, the support of Aéro Montréal and the generous contribution of the Government of Québec, thousands of students will develop their ingenuity and be inspired to become the next generation of engineers, pilots and technicians.”

Passion from Within and Passion for Flight are currently offered in the Greater Montréal area. Educational materials for teachers are available at https://www.aeromontreal.ca/passion-within.html and https://www.aeromontreal.ca/passion-flight.html.