Dreamer Day is a groundbreaking experiential learning event that brings together over 3,000 female (and female-identifying) students from across Ontario for a day of hands-on exploration across underrepresented career fields, including the skilled trades, emergency response, STEAM, and entrepreneurship/leadership. Designed to empower students and expand their sense of possibility, Dreamer Day provides meaningful opportunities to connect with industry mentors, develop new skills, and gain insight into high-demand career pathways where women have historically been underrepresented.
Participants engage directly with tools, machinery, and trade-specific tasks in a safe, inclusive environment that fosters confidence, curiosity, and skill development. This unique format helps bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world application.
At Dreamer Day, we create a dynamic environment, where student learning is:
Connected
The event promotes connected learning by linking students with mentors, community partners, and important pathways such as OYAP. These connections deepen engagement, and show students how their learning ties into larger systems of education, employment, and social impact.
Authentic
Learning is authentic because it takes place in a context that mirrors the real world. Students interact with professionals, explore actual tools and technologies, and engage in spontaneous, unscripted conversations. Authentic experiences not only connect theory with practice, but they also motivate future action.
Autonomous
Students are encouraged to make independent choices during the event; selecting activations, asking their own questions, and setting personal learning goals. These elements of self-directed learning are embedded into the Student Passport that will help guide their day. This type of autonomy fosters confidence, critical thinking, and a sense of ownership, all of which are significant to the adolescent learner.
Emergent
Student learning is responsive and emergent, unfolding organically as they interact with industry professionals, explore exhibits, and ask questions that matter to them. This flexible structure allows interests and insights to arise in the moment, making learning timely and personally meaningful.
Experiential (Base of the Pyramid)
The foundation of all learning at Build a Dream is experiential; hands-on, real-world engagement that allows students to explore careers through action. This grounded, sensory experience builds understanding that is lasting and makes learning both relevant and meaningful.
This pyramid illustrates how experiential learning supports all other pedagogical elements, ensuring students don’t just hear about opportunities, they live them.
