Happy Canada Day!
- 1st Jul 2024
- Author: Elliott Langley - Marketing Administrator
Today’s Our Space is dedicated to Canada Day! Canada has a huge role in the space industry; from the development of the Canadarm series of robotic arms, which have been used on the Space Shuttle Program and also been pivotal to construction of the International Space Station, to a Canadian astronaut being part of the upcoming Artemis 2 moon mission.
The Canadian Space Agency has also contributed more recently to the James Webb Space Telescope, with two scientific instruments that will help study far away planets and galaxies.
Every year on 01 July, Canadians across the world commemorate and celebrate the birth of their country. To mark this special day, I decided to sit down with our Community Engagement Presenter, Sean, who has been with the National Space Centre for several years and who happens to be Canadian himself!
Happy Canada Day Sean! What is today about and are you doing anything to celebrate?
Thanks Elliott! So Canada Day commemorates my country coming into existence in 1867. But it’s also an excuse to celebrate all things Canadian.
I’m not doing anything too crazy to celebrate this year, but you can be sure that Canadians all over the world will be having big BBQs, drinking a lot of beer and letting off loads of fireworks. There was a big celebration in Trafalgar Square yesterday [30 June] full of Canadian food and drinks, live music, tourism. I would have loved to have gone, but unfortunately I was busy so I missed it this year.
Ah, well we can make this chat our way to celebrate Canada Day, Sean. Cheers!
[Raises water bottle] Cheers!
So were you born in Canada?
No, actually. I was born in Edinburgh and then my family moved to Canada when I was 6. I moved over there with my mum, who is Canadian-born and a Canadian citizen. That meant that I was given automatic Canadian citizenship as soon as I arrived. Then my dad moved over a month later whilst he was sorting our his permanent residency. I’ve actually still got my citizenship card from when I moved over there, I’ve kept it to this day.
And for someone who’s never visited Canada, a.k.a. me, could you tell me a bit about the country?
Well, it’s big! Honestly, the population is so big. You can live in a place like Ontario or Toronto and you’ll never see the same faces; it’s quite rare to bump into someone that you know.
We Canadians, we love our coffee. We’re not that fancy, we like to keep it simple and have it black or with cream. So the amazing coffees we serve here in Boosters are a bit of a revelation to me. Hockey is massive for us. It’s quite typical for someone to go to a Tim Hortons, get a massive box of doughnuts and take it to the dressing room for all the hockey players before the game.
How about the weather?
It’s really cold in the winter, you’d love it. [Editor note: Elliott is a creature of the winter]. You need a good pair of winter boots. The summer, though, is humid. If you don’t have an air conditioning unit in your house, you’re going to have a very rough summer and lots of sleepless nights. When you open your back door, it feels like if you stood behind an aeroplane engine when it’s taking off, it’s just a waft of hot air. But the good thing is, energy bills are a lot lower in Canada than over here, so it’s easier to afford to run your air con.
What do you do in your current role?
I create workshops for young people and alternative provisions for children aged 12 - 17. We have day programs that run from 09:30 – 14:30, in which I run hands-on interactive activities. I take collections from the National Space Centre and run activities so that the children feel like they have a connection with us.
On top of that there’s After School Club as well. We’re going to start reaching out to more groups so that we increase the amount of young people that we’re working with.
I’m really focused on building relationships with young people so that they feel comfortable and that we’re a positive influence. Our efforts are focused on space, but there’s room for us to be mentors and make a difference.
That must be rewarding?
Oh yeah, massively so. I honestly enjoy working with our young learners so much. Every day is different and each interaction is a new experience. Don’t get me wrong, it has its challenges as well. You might be working with someone who’s having a bad day and they need their mood lifting, and that can be tough in its own way. But I always come away with a smile on my face.
You also do a lot of work with environmentalism as well.
Yeah, it’s genuinely really important to me. We only have one planet, right? So we want to take care of it and not let it be harmed. I took on helping out in the Environmental Working Group and looked at what small changes we can make in the workplace. Things like making a place where staff throw away their crisp packets, so I can collect them and recycle them properly. People here eat a lot of crisps, you know!
I also organise taking the staff outdoors and getting involved with cleaning the River Soar, which is right next to the National Space Centre. We've adopted a part of the canal and we're taking care of it by litterpicking and cleaning up the wildlife.
And then there’s things like collecting ink cartridges that are used up and recycling those as well. A lot of the lights around the Centre have a timer so that lights turn off and saves energy. There’s a lot of other things that we’re looking at right now. We have a great bike lock up area, to hopefully encourage people to bike to work. I haven’t seen you on a bike yet Elliott, what’s that about?
I actually walk to work. I use Mother Nature’s Trainer, the human foot. You’re quite a keen cyclist, aren’t you?
I am indeed. I cycle 150 miles a week. Fitness and health are really important to me as well. I switched to a vegan diet some years ago and it’s honestly made a massive difference to my life. Animal rights is something I’m super passionate about and I’m always advocating for it. There has to be people that speak up for animals, seeing as how they can’t speak for themselves. And of course, reducing the consumption of meat really helps the planet out, so it’s relevant to what we do here at the National Space Centre.
I understand there’s a bit of a familial link between yourself, a former Health and Safety Manager and his daughter?
[Laughs] There is some truth to that! I met my significant other, Rachel, on a cruise ship of all places. I was working on cruise lines in a customer service role and on summer camps. So I was working with children aged 2-11 and getting good experience for the type of work I do here.
It was a 6-month contract, so when contracts finished, someone had to replace that role. Someone left, and then Rachel joined our camp. I gave her an orientation and tour of the boat, and she was laughing about how clueless I was about basically everything! That night we went for a drink at the cruise ship’s bar, and we hit it off.
Keep it family-friendly…
Don’t worry, I will! So we gradually got to know each other and we started dating whilst on this cruise. Things were going well and we did a video call with her parents. Her dad happened to be none other than Steve, who was Head of Security at the National Space Centre at the time. So that was my first link with the Centre. His other daughter also worked here as well, so the Centre was part of the family. The whole reason I actually moved to the UK was to be with Rachel.
So when I emigrated, I was looking for a job and Steve said I should keep an eye out for positions at the National Space Centre because it’s a great place to work. Eventually I saw the Space Crew Team Member job positing, and he actually drove me here for my interview and waited in the car park while I was in there. He was rooting for me the whole time. It was funny, when I eventually got the job, I would see Steve at work every day then come home and see his daughter.
He left not long after I started and then came back again as the Health and Safety Manager, before leaving again! He’s a tough man to pin down! But we’re really close and I see him a lot. We spent a lot of time together during Lockdown, he was a big help then.
And I believe this wholesome National Space Centre family is about to expand again, is that correct?
Yes sir! We’re expecting our first child.
Congratulations to you both, Sean!
Thank you! I’m actually going to be seeing Steve tonight and we’re going to be telling him the news that he’s going to be a grandfather. So he’s going to freak out.
I can imagine. You’ll have to bring the little one to a Small Space Day.
Definitely, I can’t wait to bring our little astronaut to the National Space Centre.
So, just to turn this back to Canada for a moment, do your parents ever come and visit you over here?
Yeah, they were actually here just a couple of weeks. I brought them here and they really liked it. They were glad to see where I work and meet all my friends and colleagues. They completely understand why I moved over here and were really proud of the life I’ve made.
That's lovely. What’s your favourite Canadian food?
Poutine. That’s easy. Proper Canadian Poutine. It’s basically French fries topped with cheese curds and gravy. It’s so good, you’ve got to try it.
Sounds amazing. And finally, what does #SpaceForEveryone mean to you?
As long as you are a human being, and you have a good soul, and you want to learn, you should be able to come to the National Space Centre. It’s as simple as that.
Do you have a good soul Sean?
Yes sir, I think I do.
5 Space Facts about Canada
- You may have heard of Chris Hadfield, a Canadian born astronaut, engineer, fighter pilot, novelist and most importantly, a musician! We had the pleasure of welcoming Chris to the National Space Centre twice.
- Toronto-based David Dunlap Observatory confirmed the existence of black holes in 1972.
- The Canadian Space Agency was formed in 1989.
- A small Canadian village called Snag recorded a temperature in 1947 that was colder than the average temperature on Mars!
- The University of Guelph are the leading experts on hydroponics, otherwise known as growing plants in space without soil.
