Trading pins
Some people consider trading lapel pins to be serious business. During the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, I spotted individuals with hats, vests and lanyards covered in trading pins from around the world.
This week, I have witnessed how pin trading can actually foster camaraderie.
I’m working at Canada’s national science competition in Toronto. Hundreds of budding scientists from grades 7 to 12 won local and regional science fairs before packing up their projects to participate in the 2011 Canada-Wide Science Fair. In addition to presenting their experiments and competing for scholarships and cash prizes, these students are interacting with youth from 99 regions across Canada.
Apart from all the organized activities taking place this week, the informal pin trading seems to be popular and successful in getting students to interact with one another. Everywhere I go, I see students huddled to swap pins. More often than not, the students continue to chat long after that initial pin exchange.
These pins give students an easy way to mingle. As someone who was a shy student, I can appreciate the value in having a ‘safe’ reason to approach someone from a different grade, another school or a distant province.
I know that when this week ends the students will be weighed down with trading pins. But everyone will head home from the science fair with more than just souvenir pins. Those pins led to conversations, shared experiences and friendships, so those bright young minds will be stocked with fond memories too.
AWESOME!
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| Canada-Wide Science Fair students in the 2011 exhibit hall. |
I’m working at Canada’s national science competition in Toronto. Hundreds of budding scientists from grades 7 to 12 won local and regional science fairs before packing up their projects to participate in the 2011 Canada-Wide Science Fair. In addition to presenting their experiments and competing for scholarships and cash prizes, these students are interacting with youth from 99 regions across Canada.
Apart from all the organized activities taking place this week, the informal pin trading seems to be popular and successful in getting students to interact with one another. Everywhere I go, I see students huddled to swap pins. More often than not, the students continue to chat long after that initial pin exchange.
These pins give students an easy way to mingle. As someone who was a shy student, I can appreciate the value in having a ‘safe’ reason to approach someone from a different grade, another school or a distant province.
I know that when this week ends the students will be weighed down with trading pins. But everyone will head home from the science fair with more than just souvenir pins. Those pins led to conversations, shared experiences and friendships, so those bright young minds will be stocked with fond memories too.
AWESOME!
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