Department of chemistry
to hold demonstrations
 By
David Brunner
Staff Writer
At 10:30 Saturday morning the department of chemistry
will host a classical demonstration of the basic principles of chemistry
and how they apply to everyday life.
The one-hour event is designed to inform and entertain
audience members with visual illustrations and group participation.
Paul Smith, director of lecture demonstrations
for the chemistry department, said the show will hopefully help to create
interest in chemistry and the chemistry department.
"We hope that by getting people involved and
offering some entertainment with chemistry, that people will gain a
better understanding of chemical principles," Smith said.
During the show, audience members will compete
to produce reactions that cause chemicals to change in color and will
learn about combustion reactions during a candlelight lesson.
Heather Doherty, a senior in the School of Science
and Smith’s assistant, said she enjoys doing the shows because
of the audience’s reaction to the experiments.
"I love the surprised look on the kids' faces
when they see something happen that seems impossible," Doherty
said. "Most of the time our audiences are made up of children and
their parents … the kids definitely make it fun."
Smith says that one highlight of the show, especially
for kids, will be when instructors use bubbles in the experiments.
"We will be doing a lot of things with bubbles,"
Smith said. "With a large wand, we will create one huge bubble
and then try and put a human inside of it."
Doherty said that more than just the audience will
benefit from this event.
"I plan to put this on my resume," Doherty
said. "It is a great teaching experience."
The demonstrations will be held in the Wetherill
Laboratory of Chemistry, Room 200.
Smith said that he hopes many people will attend.
"It is a large lecture hall, so we should
have a good turnout," he said.
|
