National Chemistry Week

The Northeast Wisconsin Local Section coordinated three events for National Chemistry week. They prepared 150 take home kits for the Neenah Library, focused on the theme the “Healing Power of Chemistry”, via activities with sunscreen. Kids received UV-paper and two types of sunscreens to paint and compare. They additionally held two in-person events, one at the Atlas Science Center in Appleton and the other at the Oshkosh Library with activities using ACS resources!

Photo credit: Pat Hallquist

The Nigeria International Chemical Sciences Chapter held a 3-hour virtual event, which featured members from all student chapters in Nigeria. It included two invited talks from Professors of Medicinal Chemistry, NCW-themed flash presentations from all student chapters in Nigeria, photo show and presentation of the digital version of celebrating chemistry magazine. There was also a Social Media Time-Out named: "How has Chemistry impacted your life with its Healing Power" and presentation of certificates to both participants and presenters.

Photo credits: UNIUYO Chapter, ACS Nigeria and Makurdi

The South Florida ACS Local Section held various events in celebration of NCW which included events at two local science museums. ACS Student Chapters and other organizations volunteered to do hands-on activities for museum patrons. Activities included making your own tea bags and demonstrating hydrophobic effects of barrier creams. Groups also did their own events like making hand sanitizer and celebrating Mole Day by making mole characters. The local section also hosted the Illustrated Poem Contest.

Photo credit: Lorilee Valientes

For NCW 2023, the Northern Oklahoma Local Section had approximately 80 volunteers who visited 4th and 5th grade classes throughout 17 schools in the region. There were nearly 2000 students visited! They grouped each class into five teams and helped the kids conduct the milk of magnesia/vinegar/red cabbage juice indicator experiment, outlined in the ACS Celebrating Chemistry magazine. Each student was provided safety glasses and safety instructions for the experiment.

Photo credit: TG Gunasekara

The Michigan State University Local Section hosted a Chemistry Day event in partnership with the Impression 5 Science Center in Lansing, MI. Michigan Educational Trust foundation sponsored free admission to the science center that day. Several hands-on activities and demonstrations were presented by MSU Undergraduates, MSU Chemistry Club, University of Olivet Chemistry Club, MSU Science Theater, MSU Chemistry Graduate Student Organization, and MSU ACS Women in Chemistry groups.

Photo credits: MSU Chemistry Graduate Student Organization, MSU Chemistry Club, Amy Po***ck, and the University of Olivet Chemistry Club

The Cincinnati Local Section designed momentous NCW 2023 events. Sixty-nine event volunteers consisting of professors and chemistry professionals with their family members, conducted hands-on chemistry demonstrations in 28 public libraries, located in the Cincinnati area and the Museum Center, with 500 children and 200 adult participants. In addition, three local winners from the NCW Illustrated Poem Contest were submitted to the National contest, with a total of 116 entries from four local schools.

Photo credits: Hong Zhang, Bill Crawford, Laurie Breyfogle, Linda Ford and Ed Escudero

The California Local Section of the ACS returned to the Solano Stroll on September 10th for a full day of chemistry fun in the sun, with UV-color-changing beads that became souvenir bracelets for hundreds of young scientists. Their booth also included solar-powered electrolysis of water and the pH rainbow demonstration. Visitors discovered that blowing into red cabbage pH indicator changes the color to pink, proving that the carbon dioxide in our breath is acidic.

The local sectioned continued more NCW celebrations on November 16th with two more school science festivals!

Photo credits: Vanessa Marx and Michael Cheng

The Eastern New York Local Section of the American Chemical Society hosted an event at the Colonie Center Mall in Albany, NY. The event featured 11 local organizations (70 volunteers) providing hands-on demonstrations and activities for kids of all ages. Approximately 235 people participated in the event during which time participants experienced the healing power of ice cream; made "blood" slime; and learned about soap, hand sanitizer, penicillin, and neutralizing stomach acid.

Photo Credits: Priscilla LaFountain and Mayrita Arrandale

In collaboration with the Pre-Dental Society, the Warriors Chemistry Club organized an informative and enlightening seminar. Dr. Acosta explained the process of repairing cavities. He explains the chemical composition of what is used as fillings. The techniques and approach in understanding the chemical properties of the materials showed that being a dentist is much more than just making pretty smiles and was a perfect way to show the chemistry behind healing our smiles.

The Puerto Rico Local Section PR launched its NCW celebration on Oct 14 with the "Festival de Química," coinciding with a solar eclipse. Held in the Convention Center and Old SJ, the event featured 300+ volunteers, engaging 15,000+ attendees. NCW themed activities included 31 outdoor stations, a Science Expo, and two chem shows. Media coverage by TV Channels 2 and 4 highlighted the success. The week featured a Haiku contest, Mole Day celebrations, school visits, and IPGrant seminars. The local section additionally presented the EcoExploratorio Museum with a Salute to Excellence award.

Photo credits: Ingrid Montes, Ada Monzon, Moraima Colon, Jorge Colón and Jose A. Prieto

In partnership with Liberty Science Center, the North Jersey Local Section hosted 9 local colleges and high schools on October 21, 2023. The students presented demonstrations and hands-on activities that were relevant to the "Healing Power of Chemistry" theme to the delight of the 2000+ children who visited during the event.

Photo credit: Sandra Keyser

The Midland College Chemistry Club held an event at the local mall in celebration of the theme "The Healing Power of Chemistry". They made cabbage juice indicator with vinegar and milk of magnesia, to show the public the effect of natural ingredients and how they help us in curing ailments such as stomachaches.
Additionally, at the spooky science spectacular, they conducted several fun activities to promote science, such as, dry ice bubbles, balloon popping with citrus magic, and blowing balloons using baking soda and vinegar.

Photo credits: Bethany/Pat Kesavan

The Maryland Local Section conducted 16 hands-on, content-rich program programs in libraries across six MD counties. The focus was on sugars and their effect on our health. Participants built models of glucose and fructose and learned about their metabolism. They weighed sugar cube equivalents of common drinks and foods, learned about the role of hydrogen bonding on the structure of starch and cellulose, and observed the effect of vinegar on starch digestion by amylase (using iodine indicator).

Photo Credit: Rose Pesce-Rodriguez

The Central Ohio Valley Local Section held a hands-on chemistry event at the Heritage Farm's Fall Festival. Local children mixed vinegar with milk of magnesia and cabbage juice indicator to learn about pH and how antacids work. They also used vinegar-baking soda bottle rockets to launch corks across an open field.

Photo credits: Laura McCunn-Jordan/Gary Anderson

The East Tennessee Local Section created following events:
(1) The 33rd Annual Chemistry Show at UTK Chemistry Department, was attended by area kids and adults ages 2 to 102! Faculty, grad students, and SMACS members assisted with the event.
(2) Dr. Al Hazari presented talks at TSTA in Murfreesboro, TN.

(3) UTK faculty and SMACS had an academic showcase at the Football Homecoming game.

(4) The local section distributed NCW materials to schools, libraries, and museums.
The section marketed its events in local newspapers, via social media, and on radio (UTK’s WUOT-FM).

Photo credits: Dr. Doug Stuart and Burnette Crombie

Clarkson’s Dr. Dana Barry served as 2023 National Chemistry Week coordinator for the Northern New York Section of the ACS. She distributed hundreds of Celebrating Chemistry magazines and provided online resources to various schools, including the Canton Banford School, St. Lawrence Ave. Elementary School in Potsdam, Trinity Catholic School in Massena, and the St. Catherine of Siena Academy in Canton.
Students in grades 3-6 at the St. Catherine Academy designed and created bandages using 3 types of tape and 3 types of padding (dinner napkin, tissue, & printer paper). It was discovered that the napkin worked best.
Dr. Barry also donated a science kit to the Academy. In addition, Science teacher Marianne Augenstein’s 6th graders at Trinity Catholic School in Massena made a red cabbage indicator.

Photo credits: Dana Barry, Karl Doty, and Marianne Augenstein

The New Haven Local Section organized 2 hands-on science events (2 hours long each) for local students grades 5-8. There were approximately 200 participants.

The following activities were conducted with students:

1. Strawberry DNA Extraction.
2. Cloudy with a Chance of Clear Color.
3. Warm Up to Some Cool Reactions.
4. Guess the microbe game.
5. Introduction to microbiome through agar plates.

They also organized an Illustrated Poem Contest.

Photo credit: Victoria A. Raucci

The Carolina-Piedmont Local Section worked in conjunction with the Fort Mill Public Library to celebrate National Chemistry Week and its theme, "The Healing Power of Chemistry". Fifteen attendees ages 8-12 attended the event on 10/16 to learn about: neutralizing stomach acid, the chemistry of x-rays, how fluoride helps with tooth brushing, and decorating lab coats! Partnering with the library allowed students to check-out books and continue learning about health, medicine, germs, and chemistry.

Photo credit: Larisa Black and Heather Estes

The ACS local section located in Silicon Valley, CA produced 4 events for National Chemistry Week. The events were hosted at the Martin Luther King Library, Salinas Community Science Center, Ronald McDonald House, and Redwood City Library. Attendees were able to execute the following experiments: Slime, Boo bubbles, Make-and-Take Lotion, UV bead bracelets, Cochineal dyes, Cloudy with a Chance of Clear Color, a Medicinal plant experiment, and Chem Catchers. They also encouraged participants to compete in the local Illustrated Poem Contest. 35 volunteers from San Jose State University, Santa Clara University, and the Silicon Valley local section provided support for 300 attendees.

Photo credit: Jigisha Shah

Student Members of the American Chemical Society at Valdosta State University, prepared demonstrations with liquid nitrogen and dry ice for the Valdosta Middle School STEM Academy 8th grade students. Additionally, Celebrating Chemistry magazines were distributed to more than 60 students and three middle school teachers who participated in the event.
Additionally, the Southwest Georgia Local section sponsored a Science Saturday event at the Bailey Science Center at Valdosta State University. The Department of Chemistry and Geosciences presented 20 hands-on activities and demonstrations for students in grades K-12.

Photo credit: Dr. Linda de la Garza and Dr. Grove

The Central Arkansas Section of ACS hosted a walk-by table event at the Creep n' Crawl 5K run at Two Rivers Park in Little Rock, AR. Members of the section provided Cloudy with a Chance of Clear Color, Slime, and Marbleized Paper for hands-on activities. Additionally, the Celebrating Chemistry magazine and stickers were provided to all attendees.

Photo credit: Faith Yarberry

In collaboration with the UW-Stevens Point Family Day event, the Central Wisconsin local section conducted the Make-and-Take Lotion activity with students, their families, and community members. The event garnered 120 attendees. This was four times their usual attendance, so they gifted a Salutes to Excellence plaque to the Marketing Manager and Associate Director of the UW-Stevens Point University Center.

Photo credit: Laura Cole

The Tampa Bay local section arranged a free experiment booth in the Museum of Science and Industry. Six University of South Florida undergraduate chemistry students volunteered to mentor children and spread chemistry awareness. Their experiment involved everyday household ingredients and the demonstration of acid-base reactions. They illustrated the transformation of milk of magnesia and vinegar with purple cabbage juice (as the pH indicator), to create a dramatic color change.

Photo credit: Christian Tang

The California Local Section participated in two major festivals in September and early October, and followed up with a successful family science night event at an elementary school in Richmond, CA on November 17th. They distributed hundreds of copies of "Celebrating Chemistry", while also sharing them with the student chapter at CSU Stanislaus in Turlock, CA.

The Eastern New York Local Section hosted an in-person event at the Colonie Center Mall in Albany, NY to celebrate National Chemistry Week 2022. The event consisted of 12 local organizations (80 volunteers) who provided hands-on demonstrations and activities for kids of all ages.

The South Florida Local Section collaborated with the Frost Museum of Science in Miami, Florida. This NCW event was a part of the annual Halloween event Spooky Science Monster Mash. Volunteers included student Chapters from local universities such as, FIU-Modesto Maidique Campus, FIU-Biscayne Bay Campus, Nova Southeastern University, Barry University and University of Miami. The YCC Local Section and the STEM Gender Equity Mentorship group from Miami Palmetto Senior High School also conducted hands-on activities for the event. Activities included fabric absorbency, cloth dyeing with natural dyes, monster dyeing, and making chromatograms using water-soluble products on both paper and fabrics.

The Orange County Local Section provided several activities aligned with this year's NCW theme. They organized a free science demo show at the Santa Ana Zoo in Santa Ana, CA. The city has many economically disadvantaged families, so it provided education for families who might not otherwise have access to science outreach activities. This year they provided a science experience to 224 children from the Santa Ana schools, and to approximately 200 children with paid admissions.

The Puerto Rico Local Section hosted the Southeastern Regional Meeting (SERMACS 2022) during October 19-22 and celebrated the annual “Festival de Química” in San Juan. The event was coordinated with the Puerto Rico Department of Education (students were officially allowed to attend the event). More than two hundred volunteers (ACS Student Chapters from Puerto Rico, Chem Clubs, UPRRP Graduate Student Association, Younger Chemist Committee, Women Chemist Committee, and the Ecoexploratorio Science Museum) welcomed approximately twelve hundred children, the general public, and SERMACS meeting attendees. In addition, there was a Haiku contest, receiving 140 entries. Furthermore, ACS Student Chapters and ChemClubs promoted and organized a variety of activities to celebrate mole day. Activities included visits to schools (chemical demonstrations shows and “hands-on” activities) and mole day trivia. Participants were asked to bring first aid items for donations to affected communities of Hurricane Fiona. Articles were received and donated to “Casa Amor, fe y esperanza,” a non-profit organization who helps low-income communities and students.