Kevin MacDermott

C&EN Washington

Mass spectrometers, chromatographs, and pipettes—staples in nearly every laboratory—are the tools that make modern chemistry possible. Their nearly ubiquitous use is put on hold, however, during one week each year, when chemists employ a less traditional set of implements—such as the electric pickle, UV-sensitive bracelets, and oobleck—to conduct a different kind of chemistry in a different kind of laboratory.

An aspiring young chemist takes home a helping of "slime" and a lesson in chemistry, courtesy of the Oklahoma Section. [Photo by Cherryl Frech].

Chemistry stepped into the public eye during the week of Nov. 7-13 for National Chemistry Week (NCW). That's when the American Chemical Society 's 188 local sections and nearly 900 student affiliate chapters packed up the beakers and flasks—as well as the gak and supersoakers—and took their science out into the community, where people got a chance to see chemistry's influence on their lives.

California Section members take the field for an NCW tribute to Glenn Seaborg. [Photo by Randall Schroeder].

This year's NCW brings to an end the yearlong International Chemistry Celebration (IChC), begun during NCW '98. The theme for NCW '99 was "Celebrating Polymers," a complement to one of the primary programs of IChC, "A Global Salute to Polymers." Two unifying events, both linked to the polymer theme, served as the platform for many of the NCW activities. In the first, participants in events carried out with the public would learn of the properties of polymer sodium polyacrylate and propose ideas for its use. Nearly 150,000 copies of WonderScience and 60,000 copies of ChemMatters, both of which featured articles and experiments with sodium polyacrylate used widely in NCW activities, were distributed to the local sections in support of this event.

Elementary school students learn about chemistry from a Kentucky Lake Section volunteer.

The second event was a photo contest. Local sections were challenged to create an image, taken during their NCW celebrations, that conveys the NCW theme and reflects the intent of the initiative: Make a positive change through positive exposure. The winning photos will be selected in 2000, and the winners will be announced at the ACS national meeting in San Francisco next March. Phoenix Awards, given to honor the outstanding efforts made during NCW '99, will be presented at the national meeting in August in Washington, D.C.

The first NCW took place in 1988. After 12 years of practice, ACS members are getting good—getting more creative, to say the least—at gaining attention. Following are some of the highlights from this year's celebration.

A Michigan State University student stretches polyethylene oxide. [Photo by John Funkhouser].

Shopping malls are normally where you go to find good deals on merchandise, but for one week each November, it's also where you go to find good chemistry. Mall events, such as hands-on activity tables and information booths, have proven time and time again to draw crowds. Such was the case with Chemistry Day at Lansing Mall in Michigan, which featured 40 tables of demonstrations that were visited by roughly 2,000 shoppers. The Michigan State University Section has held Chemistry Day for 13 years and has set an example of how successful this type of event can be. This year, many sections conducted successful activities at shopping malls, such as the Brazosport (Texas), Corning (N.Y.), Oklahoma, and Toledo (Ohio) Sections.

The streets of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, are alive with chemistry.

The Puerto Rico Section knows a second way to spread the news about chemistry: Sponsor an open house. This year's effort was their biggest success ever, as more than 450 students took tours of the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, campus research laboratories. The open house at Indiana University was a hit, too, as the Southern Indiana Section's event proved to be the place to be.

IChC activities, such as Global Salutes, polymer-focused projects, and "World of Color" poster contests served as the central theme for several NCW events. Southern Indiana, for example, invited local students to submit posters for the IChC contest and received 130 entrants. The Southwest Georgia Section's poster contest also drew many interesting entries. North Carolina hosted a polymer discussion group; Nashville threw a "polymer party." Numerous Global Salutes, such as those done by the Northeast Tennessee and Orlando Sections, honored the innovators and innovations of polymer chemistry.

The St. Louis Section displayed materials collected during IChC events in Australia, Greece, India, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, and Zimbabwe. The unique exhibit was displayed at the St. Louis Science Center.

Goggles, gloves, and giggles for the young chemists of Piedmont Middle School (Calif). [Photo by Alex Madonik].

Nearly 1,600 students and their parents hit the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences on Nov. 13 for Greater Houston's "Chemistry for Cool Kids." Volunteers from academe and industry conducted nine different experiments during the event, which capped a weeklong celebration marking the opening of the museum's new Welch Hall of Chemistry.

"Super Science Saturday," sponsored by the Louisiana Section and held at the Louisiana Children's Museum in New Orleans, enjoyed a big turnout, too, as did the museum activities conducted by the Cincinnati, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Rochester Sections.

Visitors to the Kalamazoo Valley Museum got a taste of chemistry at "Chem Day." [Photo by George Hines].

The library can be an equally effective tool for educating the public on chemistry—just ask the Memphis and Northeastern Ohio Sections, which both held huge events in their local libraries and brought thousands of people in contact with the benefits of chemistry.

Local newspapers and television stations were buzzing with chemistry during NCW, as were some of the larger media outlets. Hundreds of thousands of people read or watched stories about NCW activities. Parade magazine, for one, took notice and published an article on the ACS celebration in its Nov. 7 issue. Theresa Thewes, NCW Task Force chair, and Kathleen M. Thompson, ACS manager of community activities, took chemistry to the airwaves on their national radio tour.

Students from Emory & Henry College demonstrate chemilluminescence at Northeast Tennessee's "Fourth-Graders Day." [Photo by Ivan Scott].

With a name like "Chemistry Jamboree," you're bound to have some fun. Central North Carolina's three jamborees each began with a chemistry magic show and ended with a tasty finale: liquid nitrogen ice cream. The local newspaper showed its support of chemistry, too, running a full-color chemistry activity page for kids.

Many sections, such as Northeast Wisconsin, took the road less traveled by holding activities in places you don't normally find many people, such as the Oshkosh Water Filtration Plant. The site, which serves nearly 60,000 inhabitants of Oshkosh, acted as an ambassador for chemistry to the several hundred attendees who got a chance to see some of the good things chemicals do.

The Texas A&M University Cyclotron is another place you wouldn't normally visit. As part of NCW, the school opened to visitors its chemistry research labs and cyclotron, used to accelerate charged subatomic particles.

A visitor to Millcreek Mall in Erie, Pa., adds a lesson in polymers to his shopping bag. [Photo by Tom Hall].

The Baton Rouge Section found itself in a win-win situation with its "ChemDemos" program. Students from the Louisiana State University chemistry department, using supplies provided by local chemical companies and organizations, conducted a series of classroom chemistry demonstrations for K-12 students. Evaluations filed after the event indicated that everyone—students, teachers, and demonstrators—had a blast.

For Baton Rouge's "ChemPals Expo," which was sponsored by the Iberville Chemical Council, high-school science students gave nearly 450 demonstrations. Astronaut Michael P. Anderson, who flew on a recent shuttle-Mir docking mission, inspired young listeners to explore their curiosity in science.

"Pirate Pete's Treasure Map" teaches children in Davenport, Iowa, about chromatographic separation of ink. [Photo by George Bailey].

Space was the theme for a University of Arkansas demonstration named Cosmochemistry. A plastic kiddie pool was filled with cocoa powder topped by a layer of flour, and participants were encouraged to throw rocks into the pool to simulate meteors' impact on a planet's surface.

Not many things can compete with football for attention, so the California Section took advantage of a University of California, Berkeley-University of Oregon game to spread the word on chemistry. UC Berkeley chemistry students and Alpha Chi Sigma fraternity hosted an NCW booth outside the stadium and offered a unique brand of entertainment: MC² (recent graduate Ryan Louie) and his "Cool Chemistry Rap."

Young visitors to the Mentor Public Libarary (Ohio) show off their "Polymer Passports," which record their participation in the day's activities.

The chemistry fun didn't end there, however. NCW volunteers hosted a halftime show for the 50,000 fans, honoring the late Glenn T. Seaborg, Nobel Laureate and former UC Berkeley chancellor. NCW and element 106—seaborgium—banners flew on the field while a tribute to the renowned scientist was delivered over the loudspeakers.

Fans of the Indianapolis Colts NFL football team also got some exposure to chemistry. Student affiliates from two chapters within the Indiana Section erected a huge periodic table—110 feet in diameter—over the west entrance to the state capitol, which also serves as a primary portal for stadium visitors. Other novel representations were Texas A&M's "Periodic Table of Cookies" and South Plains' "Periodic Table of Cupcakes," displayed at Texas Tech.

Fifth-graders at Marydale Elementary School, Baton Rouge, learn how absorbent sodium polyacrylate really is. [Photo by James R. Clark].

Creativity abounds during NCW—and it's not just the members who show it. Sixth-grade students in the Central Wisconsin Section showed their chemistry prowess and used their imaginations by suggesting some interesting uses for sodium polyacrylate: create wetlands through saturation by adding the polymer to the soil, clean up oil spills, and increase the absorbency of paper towels by incorporating it into the paper.

Alexander Ho, 1999 International Chemistry Olympiad gold medalist, and his chemistry teacher, Ann Levinson, got a chance to practice their public speaking skills as keynote speakers for the Chicago Section's Chemistry Day. In addition to several presentations, attendees were treated to a polymer demonstration and a radial chromatography contest, "pH is pHun."

The Cleveland Section showed 800 or so elementary students and their parents that "you may be up from dawn to dusk, [but] chemistry never sleeps." This was the theme for "Chemistry Around the Clock," held at the numerous branches of the Cuyahoga County Public Library and the NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field. The presentation took onlookers through a typical day, highlighting the chemistry in commonplace activities such as brushing your teeth, painting in art class, and making dinner.

Kids get a chemistry lesson at the University of Arkansas' mall event.

For the Central Arkansas Section, "Dress as Your Favorite Element Day" was the wrap-up for a week of theme days. One industrious celebrant depicted aluminum by donning aluminum foil, not to be outdone by the student who smeared her face with dirt and carried a shovel to depict barium. Many students are already planning their costumes for next year.

Chemistry took a back seat in a Delaware Section celebration where the spotlight shone on the chemistry teachers instead. Science Teacher Recognition Night featured several speakers, including a keynote address by ACS President Ed Wasserman.

Another chemistry luminary, Nobel Laureate Richard E. Smalley, encouraged would-be chemists at Kids Science Expo, which was sponsored by Shell Chemical and the American Landscape Museum in Houston.

Even crash-test dummies like the Nashville Section's gak. [Photo by Ruth Woodall].

Was Sherlock Holmes a chemist? Perhaps not, but James O'Brien's presentation for the East Texas Section, "Chemistry in the Sherlock Holmes Stories," revealed the chemistry behind the legendary crime solver's investigations. Sleuth work was also the focus of an Eastern New York Section activity that was conducted by forensic chemists from the New York State Police Crime Lab. Kids got their hands dirty as they learned about the chemistry in fingerprinting techniques.

The Erie Section's efforts are a model for teamwork—72% of the section's membership (88 of 122 members) volunteered for exhibitions at local museums and shopping malls and other events. Two contests, conducted through local newspaper announcements, challenged K-8 students with chemistry quandaries. In addition to prizes for each student, winners' classrooms will be visited by local chemists, who will conduct hands-on chemistry activities.

One emphasis for NCW participation is expansion and growth, as sections and student affiliates chapters strive to involve more and more members each year. This year, participation in the Pittsburgh Section's event rose exponentially. In 1998, 10 of the section's 250 members served as volunteers for NCW activities. In 1999, 150 members jumped in and helped out.

The East Texas Section makes an impression by making bubbles at its mall demonstration. [Photo by Mike Sheets].

Want to get someone's attention? Use a fireball. After five years of practice, the Heart O' Texas Section has learned that controlled fires and explosions catch the eyes of both passersby and reporters. "Demos in the Dark: Things that Go Boom and Bang in the Night," held in the darkness of the Lucile Capt Amphitheater at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, gave hundreds of onlookers a sample of the magic of chemistry.

The Northwest Louisiana Section also employed chemistry's magical appeal to entertain and inform minority students who visited the Louisiana State University campus in Shreveport.

Several sections, such as the Huron Valley Section, stretched National Chemistry Week into National Chemistry Month in order to get in all their activities. Huron Valley filled several weeks with demonstrations and visits, each conducted by student affiliates groups from Eastern Michigan University (EMU) and the University of Michigan. For one EMU event, "Saturday Morning at the Lab," students were assisted by scientists from Warner-Lambert and Parke-Davis.

Not everyone can make it to the party, so ACS takes the party to them. "Chemistry Is for Everyone" was the theme of the Indiana-Kentucky Border Section's NCW program, which included visits to a retirement community and a nursery school in the area.

Distance means nothing to the members of the Idaho Section. Former section chair Rob Cowan, who is now a chemistry and geography teacher with the Peace Corps at a secondary school in Kenya, conducted IChC activities and chemistry demonstrations for his students. Another Peace Corps volunteer also conducted IChC activities in a second village, proving that children anywhere can get excited about chemistry. Back in the U.S., section volunteers traveled a 300-mile trip to "ghost town" Patterson, Idaho, and visited two American Indian reservations. Their presentations were well received.

Pensacola Section volunteers also took chemistry to some groups who don't normally experience it firsthand. They conducted hands-on experiments with the Hispanic Action Society and Boy Scout Troop 409, which is composed of boys with mental and physical disabilities. The section also took students from primarily minority Booker T. Washington High School on a tour of the Pall Membrane Technology Center in Pensacola. Minority students at the Tuskegee Institute Middle School (Auburn Section) were also treated to a night of Chemistry Jeopardy and chemistry experiments.

Patients at Fairview Children's Hospital in Minneapolis viewed demonstrations though a closed-circuit television show, "Kids Club TV." Host Ravi Ravichandran, chair of the section's NCW Committee, showed the children how to make "superballs" (balls with very high bounce) from dental impression material and explained why sodium polyacrylate makes diapers so absorbent. Viewers were able to call in questions for Ravichandran. The program was supported by 3M's Science Encouragement Program.

Members of the South Florida Section used the camera to convey the messages of chemistry to a larger audience. Their video, recorded in both English and Spanish versions, contained demonstrations of sodium polyacrylate's absorbing power, as well as demonstrations on states of matter and paper chromatography of colors. Copies were distributed to 300 elementary schools in the Miami-Dade County metropolitan area. Included in the video package was a contest for students, challenging them to devise creative uses for sodium polyacrylate.

Reaching adults sometimes requires NCW volunteers to take creative measures. The Indiana-Kentucky Border Section, for example, had an interesting approach: It set up a demonstration booth on the dock of a floating casino. The crowd was receptive, according to section member Marie G. Hankins. "Of course, we had to explode a hydrogen balloon to get their attention in the beginning!"

This same audience may have been interested to see the Dallas-Fort Worth Section's museum demonstration called "The Hustle," a version of the game "Three-Card Monte" using sodium polyacrylate. Other interesting chemistry demonstrations were the Illinois-Iowa Section's "Pirate Pete's Treasure Maps" (chromatographic separation of inks); Delaware's human polymer chain, in which children wearing color-coded T-shirts held hands to form a massive structure; and Detroit's "Electric Pickle" experiment, which proved appliances can be pickle-powered.

There's a strange chemistry between kids and gooey, gunky things, so it's no wonder that Park College's (Parkville, Mo.) student affiliates chapter, C.H.E.M. Club, made a big hit with several hundred Kansas City-area children with their "Slime Time" activity. And what aspiring young scientist could resist something called the "Human Fire Extinguisher"? Union University student affiliates, part of the Kentucky Lake Section, found that fire serves as an exciting way to promote chemistry to kids.

Girls were the focus for two Pennsylvania local sections. In the Lehigh Valley Section, more than 100 Girl Scouts took part in a day's worth of chemistry discussion, demonstration, and experimentation, and at the Philadelphia Section's event, approximately 100 sixth-grade girls attended a conference designed to stimulate girls' interest in careers in science. The South Carolina Section also focused on local Girl Scouts—131 turned out for chemistry fun and a chance to tie-dye T-shirts. Pennsylvania Boy Scouts had their fun, too. Troop 413 in the town of Duke Center got a visit from members of the Penn-York Section, who brought the scouts several activities including the "voice-activated bottle" and slime.

Visitors to Kalamazoo, Mich., may have driven under a large NCW banner hanging over one of the city's main thoroughfares on their way to the "Great Chemistry Is Everywhere" celebration at a downtown museum. And local high-school students and their teachers got a chance to try their hands at the podium as participants in a chemistry symposium at Western Michigan University.

Industry sponsorship and participation is a large part of NCW's success. Literally hundreds of companies chip in, whether in the form of donations of materials, funding of activities, or recruitment of volunteers. The North Jersey Section's chemistry expos at Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, in which 38 local companies provided materials and volunteers, is a good example of their effort. In Pittsburgh, Bayer Corp. used one of its electronic billboards to carry NCW messages high above the city during the week.

The top 75 U.S. chemical producers were on display in Brunswick, Ga., as Coastal Georgia Community College chemistry students researched the companies for the Coastal Empire Section's poster contest. At a second event, ninth-graders shot pennies at hidden beakers in order to learn Ernest Rutherford's method of determining the diameter of a gold atom.

The achievements of individual chemists are also celebrated during NCW. The Northeast Oklahoma Section honored the discoveries of Phillips Petroleum researchers Robert L. Banks and J. Paul Hogan—crystalline polypropylene and a new high-density polyethylene—by designating their former laboratory as an ACS National Chemical Historic Landmark (C&EN, Nov. 29, page 49). Local middle-school science students constructed figures and a replica town of polymeric materials. These imaginative creations were displayed at Phillips Research Center in Bartlesville, Okla.

Malcolm M. Renfrew, another industrial chemist, was honored by the Washington-Idaho Border Section. His contribution to polymer development—namely, DuPont's Teflon (polytetrafluoroethylene) scale-up—was the subject of a yearlong display.

The Richland (Washington) Section celebrated the life of Marie Curie. Carol Berg, a chemistry teacher at Bellevue Community College in Bellevue, Wash., dressed in period costume and led the audience of 200 through the scientist's triumphs and tragedies. The audience learned a great deal about the excitement of discovery and the challenges faced by women scientists.

Not all discoveries are intentional, however, and sometimes an accident results in a surprisingly useful product. Such is the case for DuPont's Teflon and nylon, 3M's Post-It notepads, and Procter & Gamble's Ivory soap—all of which were featured in the Norwich Section's open house display, "Accidental Discoveries in Chemistry That Make Everyday Living Easier."

Everyone loves a parade, so the Puerto Rico Section threw one as the finale to a week of celebration—and everyone loved it. Accompanied by volunteers from the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, student affiliates chapter members wearing periodic table T-shirts marched through Old Town San Juan carrying international flags.

Although NCW '99 has come and gone, one doesn't have to wait until next year—Nov. 5-11—for another chance to tell others about chemistry. There are, after all, 51 additional weeks full of opportunity.

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