Clubs and year-round programs

Free conservation research and leadership program connecting youth 15–18 with nature through hands-on environmental research and conservation projects. Active programming available in Edmonton and Calgary areas.

Your class plants two sets of tomato seeds, one flown to the International Space Station, and compares germination. Free, teacher-ordered, and a real dataset.

4-H Alberta's Senior division runs from age 15 to 20. Members carry a project through the October-to-September club year and present it to judges. The project list reaches well past agriculture (Veterinary Sciences, Engineering, Welding, Entomology, Photography and Written Communications are all on it), grouped under four pillars including Science & Technology. Senior members can also compete at the spring Senior Symposium at Olds College for national and international travel selection; it charges a registration fee, and its dates are announced each year.

Free curriculum-aligned AI learning kits and guest speaker sessions that Amii provides to Alberta schools, including an AI in Junior High stream. Delivered by your teachers rather than applied to directly, so the way in is asking a teacher to bring it into your classroom.

Volunteer alongside science communicators at Calgary's science centre, running workshops, staffing exhibits and supporting summer camps. A steady way into science outreach experience, and one of the few STEM volunteer roles in Calgary open at 14 through the camp stream.

Virtual platform with active Canadian school partnerships providing mentorship and micro-credentials in artificial intelligence, web development, and cloud computing. Students earn IBM-recognized badges upon completion.

Volunteer placements in AHS regional hospitals and clinics offering direct exposure to clinical environments, health administration, and medical technology. South Zone placements available for students in Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, and surrounding communities.

An observing group rather than a research placement. Members learn the constellations and the bright star names, follow the moon phases, keep an observation logbook, sketch or photograph the night sky, and work through the RASC observing certificates from the easy targets up to the faint ones thousands of light years out. The group meets monthly on a Friday evening at the Wilson Coulee Observatory just south of Calgary, and on Zoom, breaking for the summer. A RASC youth membership lets you use the observatory site on your own time; you register by emailing the youth group coordinator. The Edmonton Centre has no equivalent youth stream.

JA Southern Alberta's flagship program: a student-led, mentor-supported team builds and runs a real company over 20 weeks, covering market research, financial planning, sales and a year-end tradeshow. Participants also get executive and sales training plus events like World of Choices. Runs in class or as an after-school activity at multiple Calgary locations.

Financial literacy, entrepreneurship and work readiness programming for northern Alberta students, including the after-school Company Program where a student team builds and runs a real business. Delivered in partnership with schools; self-directed options are also available.

A non-competitive award earned by logging hours in four areas: physical recreation, a skill, voluntary service and an adventurous journey, with a residential project added at Gold. It is the standard way to get formal, internationally recognized credit for the sport, clubs and volunteering you are already doing, and it is recognized in more than 130 countries. Over 4,000 young Albertans are enrolled. Bronze is presented by a community leader, Silver by the Lieutenant Governor and Gold by the Governor General or a member of the Royal Family.

The largest youth startup accelerator in Canada, a national charity founded by Hootsuite founder Ryan Holmes. Launch It is a free self-paced course for getting an idea off the ground. Labs is the flagship 12-week virtual accelerator, with workshops, mentors, AMA sessions and a cohort of other young founders. Boost is a 12-month program for founders further along. All three are free and take no equity, and the deposits are returned on completion. Applications for the fall 2026 Labs cohort opened in July 2026.

Summer research applications are open now, and the signature Introduction to Quantum Computing course runs from October. Qubit by Qubit teaches quantum computing to high school students, taught by PhD researchers with Google Quantum AI.

Students research global food security, agricultural technology, and sustainability, then pitch solutions to real agricultural problems with input from industry mentors.

Hackergal's national program for girls in Grades 9–12, built for the ones who have aged out of its Grades 6–9 hackathon. Ambassadors start Hackergal Clubs in their own school or community, run workshops, mentor newer ambassadors, and meet women working in tech, moving through four yearly stages from Role Model to Future-Ready Focus. Taking part also qualifies you for Hackergal's scholarship for graduating secondary students, which reopens in November 2026. The ambassador intake is closed at the moment with no reopening date posted.

Open to Albertans interested in data science and the environment. Students analyze massive open-source data sets relating to marine biology, ocean chemistry, and climate from ONC's global sensor network. Virtual participation accessible from anywhere in Canada.

An official civic agency, not a simulation. Members research and write policy proposals that go to City Council, run events on local youth issues and advise on decisions that affect young Edmontonians, which makes it verifiable government experience rather than a mock exercise. Meetings are open to the public if you want to sit in before applying. Other Alberta municipalities run comparable youth councils or advisory committees, so if you are outside Edmonton, check your own city or town's civic agency listings for the local equivalent.