Students and families across British Columbia will again experience Science World in their communities if New Democrats are elected this May, said leader Adrian Dix.

Dix announced that a NDP government would restore provincial support for the B.C. Program for Awareness and Learning of Science (BC PALS) – a popular science literacy program, putting Science World on the road, visiting students and families in different communities across the province.

Last June the provincial government cancelled funding for the program.

“On a modest annual budget of one million dollars, the BC PALS program was successfully promoting science literacy, reaching an average of 190,000 children, parents, and teachers in approximately 150 communities a year, from Haida Gwaii, Invermere, Duncan to Fort St. John.

The government’s own analysis confirms how B.C.’s future economic growth, and standing in the knowledge based economy depends on it,” said Dix.

The BC PALS program has received praise from students, parents and teachers alike. Eighty nine percent of students who have participated in ‘Science World on the Road’ said it made them more interested in science. The B.C. Science Teachers Association is a strong advocate for the program. Credited for making Science World borderless, the program has visited remote and rural areas of the province, including 45 First Nations’ communities in the last three years alone.

“Fostering curiosity and understanding in science and technology among students now will go a long way to ensuring they are qualified for well paying, fulfilling jobs, and our economy has the skilled and knowledgeable workforce and entrepreneurs it requires,” said Dix.