Surprisingly, this is not a snapshot from a raging nightclub that I managed to catch before my baby-faced friends and I were escorted to the exit. That’s right; this new and exciting venue doesn’t aim to attract crowds of hip, party-loving young adults, but of 6th graders. At the site of the Calgary Police Interpretive Centre, a new program called Youthlink intends to educate youth about the dangers of drugs, violence, and alcohol through school trips to the centre, which is full of interactive exhibits and sessions. The creators of Youthlink use their forensics program as a “foot in the door” to incentivise schools to bring their students; science teachers are offered free tools and resources to teach their forensics unit that revolve around a “case” the students piece together in class. The classes are then invited to the centre in order to solve the last part of the case, and, as an added bonus, get to explore the centre and learn more about the role of law enforcement, in the hope of “de-stigmatizing” police officers in the eyes of youth.
Through the Sheldon Kennedy Advocacy group, I had the opportunity to explore the Youthlink facility, and to hear some of the presentations that 6th graders will be attending on their field trips. The talks, into which they had integrated Ipads that we used interactively, were on such topics as violence, drugs, relationships, and internet safety. What I loved most about these were that, although the discussions are all tailored to 6th grade students, the speakers are not afraid to tackle tough topics and present real information in a way that makes the presentations engaging, and not at all cheesy or “gimmicky”.
And on top of all this, the facility is just really, really fun. I went with a group of “mature” high school students, and we, and even our teacher chaperones, were excitedly running around trying flight simulators, posing for photos on police motorcycles, and pressing all sorts of buttons, which began spouting information that was subsequently listened to intently, simply because it had come from a button. My 6th grade field trip to a landfill doesn’t quite hold a candle to the experience.
Perhaps my favorite thing about the centre was all of the “hip” young adults giving the presentations, some of whom were police officers. They made everything that should have been really cheesy quite fun, and did a great job of seeming relatable and accessible. You can preach at jr. high kids all day, but unless they feel that connection or respect for you, or whomever is providing the information, they’ll just tune you out.
If you want more information about the new program, visit their website http://www.youthlinkcalgary.com