Polytechnique Montreal welcoming hundreds of youth for science-themed summer camps

Considered one of the best engineering schools in the country, Polytechnique Montréal welcomes hundreds of children each summer to discover the world of science through the Folie Technique camp.

Project Manager Maxime Bernard says kids as young as five and as old as 17 learn about the many facets and potential fields to explore in science.

"The main goal of this summer camp is to make them curious about science and engineering," Bernard said.

It was through Folie Technique that Annabelle Minde Mailhot discovered her love of engineering.

"I was 14 and I didn't really know what I wanted to do in the future," she said in an interview. "But just being around people studying engineering and being in the school got me interested."

She's now completing her degree in industrial engineering and working as a camp counsellor.

Since 1991, the non-profit has been running the day camps, which are organized around several themes. This week, it's programming.

"During the week, they were learning how to code and now they're putting it into practice with drones," Bernard said.

They're also learning that the slightest miscalculation can lead to a crash as they try to fly the drones through an obstacle course.

Programmer Benjamin Pratt is there to guide them and to pass along his love of science.

"My goal is to teach them to love programming. It's a big part of reality now," he said.

And he says it's never been more fun.