Thursday, May 15 – Sagamok’s Claims and Negotiations Unit partnered with the Education Department to bring Biidaaban’s Grade 7 and 8 students on a field trip to Dynamic Earth in Sudbury. The collaboration was led by Mineral Development Advisor, Jordan Bennett, who after a very successful career in the mining industry, has brought his expertise to Sagamok.
Students boarded the coach bus at Biidaaban, making their way to Dynamic Earth for their tour, which started at 10am. Students were divided into two groups. While one group headed into Dynamic Earth’s underground tour, the other headed to an interactive workshop about renewable energy.
Going Underground
While everyone was getting organized, Jordan gave students an impromptu lesson from his experience working underground, including details like how the miners’ uniform has changed, now with added reflective pieces to improve visibility and the process of signing in for a shift and hanging one’s photo badge on the wall to indicate which level you’re working on in case of an emergency.
Everyone loaded into the huge elevator, “the cage”, descending about 22 meters to the educational space designed to imitate many of the features of mining work. By comparison, the real mines in Sudbury are roughly 2.8 kilometres (or 2,800 meters) deep! First up, everyone donned a helmet. The guide encouraged everyone to try tapping into senses other than sight – feeling the cool, damp air on our noses and tracing fingers across the steep, craggily rock walls. The tour unfolded in three stages, which progressed chronologically to demonstrate mining conditions in different eras: the 1800’s, the 1950’s and present day.
At the first stop, students quickly identified a sprinkling of shiny specks amongst a big heap of otherwise dull rock. What could that be other than the presence of nickel! Three volunteers went to “work” in the 1800’s mine, holding onto various pieces of equipment that would have been used to complete the gruelling manual work of that time. After a few failed guesses, the group learned the wages of these workers: $2.20/day for the Drillers, $2.00/day for the Miners, and only $1.60/day for the Clean Up Crew. Students were shocked to learn the age requirement for mining work during this era –13 years old – close in age to many of the students on the trip! With only candles to use for light in work areas constructed largely of wood beams, and handheld dynamite used for extraction, it became startlingly clear that 1800’s mining labour was incredibly dangerous.
Moving to the 1950’s, students learned about this era of mining situated in the context of Sudbury’s nickel boom. By this time, miners needed to be at least 18 years old. The concept of ‘workers’ rights’ was developing, so wages were up to $2.22/hour. The group took a quick stop in the miners’ break room, which also functions as a shelter in the case of an emergency. On the table were a couple of silver metal lunchboxes. Here, students learned another significant tidbit of local history: this “Miner’s Lunchbox” was designed by Leo May right here in Sudbury. Originally called “Leo’s Lunchbox”, the container functions as both a protective container for the worker’s food, but also as a seat! Miners can take a load off while waiting for the cage without resorting to sitting on the cold, hard floor. Today, this lunchbox is used by miners around the world!
Lastly, students travelled into present day, where they were introduced to modern-day mining machinery and conditions. Importantly, many women now work in the mining industry, and the types of jobs available to all workers has expanded enormously. Land-Based Learning Instructor, Mike Abitong, quickly polled the group to see who was interested in a career in the mining industry; several hands went up. He stressed to the students that continuing their education will be critical to seeing their career aspirations become a reality. Jordan echoed this message, sharing that the higher paying jobs in mining – like the engineers working upstairs for example – require more schooling, but that everyone needs to have completed secondary school.
As the cage lifted everyone back to ground level, the students hollered a big “Miigwech!!!” to their guide for providing such an excellent tour.
Wind Energy Workshop
During the second half of their visit to Dynamic Earth, students participated in an interactive workshop. After reviewing some of the basics of energy science, the facilitator presented the types of energy we use here in Ontario:
- Nuclear (Uranium)
- Hydro
- Wind
- Solar
- Natural Gas
- Bioenergy
Then the fun began! Each table of students worked collaboratively to put together a model windmill, that when completed, stood about 2-feet high on the desk. Students’ natural talents and learning styles took over: while some worked methodically, evaluating each piece and asking questions about the order of assembly, others dove right in! Once their structure was sound, students attached a lightbulb to their windmill and then set out to manually push the blades of the windmill until they spun fast enough to generate energy, illuminating the light bulb. Eyes widened in awe – some at the technology itself, and others at the realization that they had in fact connected everything correctly and had engineered a working model!
When all groups were ready, students attached a voltmeter to their windmills to get a reading on the amount of energy being generated. Again, they spun the blades by hand, mentally recording the results. As a final activity, the windmills were all tilted towards the front of the room, where the instructor used a huge fan to get the windmills really spinning! Students observed how their proximity to the fan impacted the speed with which their windmill spun, and as a result, how much energy was then generated. This demonstration allowed students to directly connect wind speed with energy output, reinforcing key concepts in renewable energy through real-time experimentation. The workshop was an awesome hands-on learning experience!
Following the underground tour and wind energy workshop, the two groups joined back together to enjoy a pizza lunch – and then it was time to load back onto the coach bus for the drive back to Sagamok. We couldn’t finish the trip, however, without a group picture in front of the famous Big Nickel!!! Migwech to Jordan and the CNU for providing this incredible day of learning to Biidaaban’s Grade 7 and 8 students. It was a day filled with discovery, laughter, and lasting memories—an experience that will continue to inspire curiosity and a deeper connection to science and understanding the local community.