Organizing a High School Chemistry Outreach Event: Celebrating National Chemistry Week and the...

Published: August 18, 2011

Copyright r 2011 American Chemical Society andDivision of Chemical Education, Inc. 1347 dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed200245n | J. Chem. Educ. 2011, 88, 1347–1350

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Organizing a High School Chemistry Outreach Event: CelebratingNational Chemistry Week and the International Year of ChemistryBrett R. Bodsgard,*,† Trisha A. Johnson,† Roger W. Kugel,† Nathan R. Lien,† Jaime A. Mueller,† andDebra J. Martin‡

Departments of †Chemistry and ‡Biology, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, Winona, Minnesota 55987, United States

bS Supporting Information

Every autumn, the Chemistry Department at Saint Mary’sUniversity of Minnesota celebrates National Chemistry

Week (NCW) by hosting two Chemistry Night events in whichhigh school students from regional schools spend an evening oncampus performing experiments that pertain to the currentNCW theme. These celebrations began approximately 10 yearsago as an effort to bring chemistry to the community and torecruit students to the school and the department.1 What wassurprising, but really should not have been, was how energizedthe Chemistry Department, faculty members, chemistry majors,and American Chemical Society (ACS) Student Affiliate clubmembers (who assume the role of mentors during the event)became during the planning and hosting of the events. Eventhough the task of organizing these events can be daunting, thevisiting students’ excitement as well as thementors’ enthusiasm iswell worth the effort. What follows is our department’s experi-ence planning and hosting our recent Chemistry Night events.While we are always learning and making modifications eachyear, we hope that these ideas may be helpful to organize similarevents at other institutions, particularly during this InternationalYear of Chemistry (IYC).

’PLANNING FOR THE EVENT

Winnowing Ideas and Selecting ExperimentsTo plan the Chemistry Night events for National Chemistry

Week at the end of October, discussions within the departmentbegin roughly two months prior at the start of the school year.The initial planning is focused on brainstorming chemistryexperiments related to the current NCW theme. The 2010NCW theme Behind the Scenes with Chemistry! centered onthe special effects chemistry in the movies and television. While

some previous NCW themes were difficult to plan around, thistheme proved to be quite easy in terms of generating ideas aboutwhat might be done at the Chemistry Night events. Approxi-mately 20�25 min per experiment in a 2-h time period areallotted, so the experiments that the students (in groups of nomore than three) do must be compact yet meaningful. With thistheme in mind, ideas for experiments consisted of: fake blood,slime, ferrofluids, invisible ink, fire/explosions, lasers, shapememory alloy, and others. What allows us to whittle down thelist is our treatment of the experiments not just as idly watchingchemistry happen but actively participating and thinking aboutthe chemistry at hand. The students are expected to process thechemistry at the end of the experiment, submitting a brief reportconsisting of several questions that are graded and tabulated overthe course of the evening. What the students do not know is thatthe groups with the top three scores receive prizes at the end ofthe evening. So, more in-depth experiments are chosen toemphasize the thoughtful nature of the chemistry while at thesame time being engaging and fun. One example from the recentChemistry Night was the study and preparation of slime, which isoften used in movies (such as Ghostbusters or Alien). Instead ofjust making slime though, the experiment consisted of varyingthe amounts of the reactants to identify how the consistency ofthe slime can be altered and explained by the degree of cross-linking. (See the Supporting Information for details of thisexperiment and others.) Another example was an experimentthat used lasers to study diffraction patterns and to ultimatelypredict the shape of the X-ray diffraction pattern of DNA.2,3

ABSTRACT: This article describes how a small liberal arts college organizes a yearly outreachevent for regional high school students to celebrate National Chemistry Week. The event can alsoserve as a model for outreach during the International Year of Chemistry.

KEYWORDS: General Public, High School/Introductory Chemistry, Public Understanding/Outreach, Hands-On Learning/Manipulatives

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Soliciting Participation from Local High SchoolsTo announce the event and solicit participation, we rely on a

database of regional high schools (within an approximately 50-miradius) and their chemistry teachers that has been built up overthe years. School Web sites are periodically checked to updatecontact information in the database. At the beginning of October,a letter is sent to the teachers informing them of the ChemistryNight events, detailing what their students can expect and askingthe teachers for a response indicating their interest. Thatresponse would include their preference of the two ChemistryNight events they would like to attend, the number of studentsthey would bring (usually capped at five or six per school), anda $50 deposit check that is returned to them when they arriveon campus. The announcement also includes several postersthat the teacher may post to generate interest among his or herstudents.

It is also made clear in the announcement that the event iscompletely free to the visiting students and their teachers (lessthe travel expenses to and from campus). Offering an event freeof charge is not an insignificant feat considering what the visitorsreceive. The expenses incurred for the evening include: dinnerand dessert at the university cafeteria for the students and teachers,chemicals and equipment, a Chemistry Night t-shirt for eachstudent, “goodie bags” for each student (containing various itemssuch as ACS-branded moles, pencils, periodic tables, etc.), andprizes for the top three scoring groups (containing iTunes orTarget gift cards of $10/15/25, and $1000 or $2000 renewablescholarships should the student enroll at Saint Mary’s). For thetwo nights (with a total of approximately 45 students, their eightteachers, a dozen mentors, and six faculty and staff), a roughestimate of the total expenses for both nights is $3000. Funding isgenerously supplied by the Saint Mary’s Office of Admissions,Dean of Humanities and Sciences, ACS Student Affiliate Chem-istry Club, and the La Crosse�Winona section of the AmericanChemical Society. The remaining balance is covered by theChemistry Department.

Finalizing Preparations on CampusThe month prior to the events is occupied with arrangements

of the fine details: Ordering the supplies (chemicals, t-shirts,goodie bag items), planning the dinner and dessert (consultingwith the university food service, cafeteria room reservations),writing and testing the experiments, training the mentors (theyare the primary contacts with the visiting students), preparing thefacilities for the experiments (all of the chemistry labs are used,including research and instrumentation rooms, depending on theexperiment), and delineating the agenda of the evening.

’PRESENTING THE EVENT

A typical schedule for the evening is shown in Figure 1. Thestudents and their teachers register at a check-in table located inthe university student center where they each receive a foldercontaining the schedule of the evening, hand-outs for each of theexperiments they will be performing, and a one page storylinedetailing how the experiments relate to the overall theme in anattempt to make a more cohesive event. After eating dinner withthe mentors and staff, everyone walks to the science building andconvenes briefly in a lecture room where it is explained how theexperiment stations will operate. Safety is emphasized and eachstudent is given a pair of goggles that they are expected to wearwhen in the labs. To allow for completion of all of the experi-ments, fewer experiments are offered (this year, five were offered,

whereas in the past, eight had been). Generally, each experimenthas two stations that can be occupied simultaneously by twogroups, so that 10 groups of three students can be working at alltimes (Figure 2). When a group finishes an experiment, they aregiven a question sheet to complete and submit before moving onto another experiment.

After the experiments end, the students reconvene in thelecture room (or on the lawn of the science building) for viewingof several chemistry demonstrations presented by the junior andsenior chemistry majors, which always proves to be immenselyentertaining.While the demonstrations are happening, in anotherroom the scores for the groups are tabulated and the top threegroups are identified. Scoring is kept relatively simple because ofthe limited time. The mentors or the supervising staff membersgrade the worksheets completed at their stations, typically on a0�5 scale. Those scores are transferred to a master grading sheetcontaining scores for each of the groups at all of the stations.

When the demonstrations conclude, everyone walks backto the cafeteria for dessert (punch and cake or pie) and awards.

Figure 2. Three high school students engaged in preparing ferrofluidduring a Chemistry Night activity.

Figure 1. Example schedule of activities for a recent Chemistry Night atSaint Mary’s University of Minnesota.

1349 dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed200245n |J. Chem. Educ. 2011, 88, 1347–1350

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The students each receive a goodie-bag with a t-shirt and enjoytheir food and conversation before the winning groups areannounced and presented with their awards. Additionally, theteachers each receive a one-year gift subscription to the Journal ofChemical Education. Before departing, the students are asked tofill out a brief evaluation form regarding various aspects of theevening so that we may assess if any changes need to be made thefollowing year. If everything has run smoothly, the event ends at9 p.m. so that the students can arrive home at a reasonable hour,as it is a school night.

’BENEFITS FOR PARTICIPANTS

High School Students and TeachersThe motivations for hosting events such as Chemistry Night

are many. The opportunity to share and enjoy chemistry with thecommunity, particularly during the International Year of Chem-istry, is a privilege that is not taken lightly. Too often, chemistryis portrayed in a negative light—with Chemistry Night, we canenergize ourselves and our visitors by performing and enjoyingthe many positive and fun aspects of chemistry for which we areso passionate. The visiting students and teachers are able toexperience chemistry that might not necessarily be viable at theirschools (owing to chemical expenses, instrumentation, or time)and it is hoped that such experiments complement the chemistrythey are currently learning. On the basis of the brief surveysthe students and teachers complete at the end of the evening,it appears that we have been consistently very successful creatinga fun yet challenging set of experiments that invigorates theirdesire to both learn and teach chemistry.

Chemistry Night Event MentorsThe majors and ACS Student Affiliate members who serve as

mentors for the evening are able to use their chemistry training tohelp visiting students work through the experiments. ChemistryNight, even though it is primarily planned by the departmentstaff, really belongs to the mentors because it is they who aredirectly working with and guiding the students. Additionally, ithas become tradition for the students enrolled in PhysicalChemistry to prepare and present the demonstrations towardthe end of the event. They are responsible for finding a suitabledemonstration, ordering necessary supplies with the assistance ofour stockroom supervisor, testing the demonstration until it isready, and preparing a very short presentation about the chem-istry behind it (Figure 3). These responsibilities build confidencein their knowledge of chemistry, exercise their communicationskills, and allow them to showcase pride in their department anduniversity.

The Saint Mary’s University Chemistry Department and theDiscipline

It was mentioned earlier that these events began partially asa tool to recruit students to the school and the major, and thatgoal still holds true. Several Chemistry Night participants havesubsequently enrolled at Saint Mary’s and more importantly,these Chemistry Night events, along with other departmentaland curricular efforts, have contributed to a tripling of the majorsin chemistry and biochemistry over the past 10 years. In the timeleading up to Chemistry Night and during the events themselves,our department and the entire science building is filled with alively and contagious energy about chemistry. The university’soffice of communications sends out a press release to localmedia and often our efforts are reported in our local newspaper.

The resulting articles are excellent press for both the departmentand the chemistry we are trying to promote.4,5

’CONCLUSIONS

Adapting This ModelThe outreach program described here can be adapted for

many different types of events, but a hallmark of this event is thechallenging nature of the experiments; at each of the stations, thestudents are actively engaged in trying to solve the problems andanswer the questions. The emphasis then is on the preparation ofa set of well-balanced experiments (not too simple where thestudents are disinterested, and not too difficult where the fun istaken out) to meet the students at their level of chemistry. Wehave found great success in using laboratories currently in placefor our general and organic chemistry labs by making modifica-tions to meet our timing needs, the audience’s experience level,and the current NCW theme. Our belief is that a successful eventcan be held for any type of audience, for any age bracket, and forany level of scientific background so long as the chemistry pushesstudents to become excited and invested in pursuing it further.

Resources To Help Plan a Similar EventWith the International Year of Chemistry at hand, events such

as our Chemistry Night should easily translate for celebrationsof the quarterly ACS IYC themes of environment, energy,materials, and health (this last theme coincides with 2011National Chemistry Week). Hosting such an event for highschool students, elementary school students, or the broadercommunity with activities that demonstrate these themes is anexcellent way to bring an awareness of the positive aspects andthe fun of chemistry. For planning our Chemistry Nights eachyear, there are several important resources we use, especiallymaterials published in the October issue of the Journal ofChemical Education celebrating National Chemistry Week, aswell as lab manuals we use for General and Organic Chemistry

Figure 3. A college student performs the “barking dog” chemicaldemonstration for Chemistry Night participants.

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courses. Both of these sources contain ideas that often provideready and usable content for our event. Notably, the quarterlyIYC theme of health that coincides with this year’s NationalChemistry Week was covered in the October 2004 issue of theJournal of Chemical Education, containing relevant and specificideas and activities.6 ACS also organizes webinars with contentrelated to National Chemistry Week, and publishes the meetingsand information for those who cannot attend the live feed.7

There are many other resources available for organizing similarIYC-themed events, namely, the official IYC main Web site,8 theACS IYC Web site,9 and the January 2011 issue of the Journal ofChemical Education.10

’ASSOCIATED CONTENT

bS Supporting InformationThe entire program for our 2010 Chemistry Night event: high

school invitation letter, poster advertisement, event schedule,experiments and report forms; press release to local media;photograph of t-shirt and award items. This material is availablevia the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org.

’AUTHOR INFORMATION

Corresponding Author*E-mail: bbodsgar@smumn.edu.

’ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We are grateful for partial financial support from the SaintMary’s University of Minnesota’s Office of Admissions, Dean ofHumanities and Sciences, and ACS Student Affiliate ChemistryClub, and the La Crosse�Winona section of the AmericanChemical Society.

’REFERENCES

(1) Mueller, J.; Kugel, R. W.; Bodsgard, B.; Vogel, J. G. ChemistryNight: Formula for a Successful Program of Outreach and Recruitment.237th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Salt LakeCity, UT, Mar 22�26, 2009; American Chemical Society, Washington,DC, 2009; CHED 66.(2) Lucas, A. A.; Lambin, Ph.; Mairesse, R.; Mathot, M. J. Chem.

Educ. 1999, 76, 378–383.(3) Institute for Chemical Education. http://ice.chem.wisc.edu/

Catalog/SciKits.html#Anchor-DNA-40205 (accessed Jul 2011).(4) Klapperich, B. Winona 360. http://www.winona360.org/

winona360/article/chemistry-easy-1-2-3 (accessed Jul 2011).(5) Minor, A. Winona Daily News. http://www.winonadailynews.

com/news/local/article_8ba05d72-bf87-11de-8f4e-001cc4c002e0.html(accessed Jul 2011).(6) Jacobsen, E. K. J. Chem. Educ. 2004, 81, 1390–1396.(7) ACS Webinars Home Page. http://www.acswebinars.org/

(accessed Jul 2011).(8) IYC Home Page. http://www.chemistry2011.org/ (accessed Jul

2011).(9) ACS IYCWeb Site. http://iyc2011.acs.org/ (accessed Jul 2011).(10) Taylor, T. M. J. Chem. Educ. 2011, 88, 6–7.