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The Scent of a Chemistry Flashback

Erica Jacobsen | Thu, 10/16/2014 - 16:00

You’ve heard the old saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” How many words for a smell? A single whiff of a familiar scent can whisk me back into the past. Wash my hands with Dove soap—I find myself standing in my grandmother’s house. Walk by someone wearing Eternity cologne—I’m back in high school with an old boyfriend. Spray out a foamy mound of Barbasol shaving cream—I’m standing at an exhibit booth talking about the Journal of Chemical Education (JCE). That was a fragrant flashback moment I had last month. As I followed my nose to the past, it led me to a solution for the present.

Chemistry At the Mall

Deanna Cullen | Mon, 10/13/2014 - 17:24

My local chapter of the American Chemical Society sponsors an annual event at a local mall called “Chemistry at the Mall”. The event is in celebration of National Chemistry Week. This year’s theme is “The Sweet Side of Chemistry – Candy”. I advise an ACS ChemClub and we hosted a table at “Chemistry at the Mall”. Ten student members worked shifts from 11am – 4pm. This was a great way to get involved with my local chapter and meet some other members. My students had a great time providing outreach and introducing young children to chemistry.

The Atomic Dashboard

Doug Ragan | Mon, 09/22/2014 - 18:25

If you are on Twitter and follow #chemchat, you may have recently seen some beautiful, rotating 3D atomic and molecular models from Dave Doherty @atomsNMolecules. I was curious about these models and after contacting Dave, he introduced me to The Atomic Dashboard.

Sweet Chemistry Resources for NCW

Erica Jacobsen | Fri, 09/05/2014 - 13:36

National Chemistry Week this October 19–25 offers a chance to take a trip to the candy shop with the theme "The Sweet Side of Chemistry—Candy." Looking for some tasty chemistry resources? Two upcoming webinars will help you stock up.

 

AACT: A Community for K–12 Teachers of Chemistry

Emily Bones | Thu, 09/04/2014 - 14:28

On September 2, the American Association of Chemistry Teachers (AACT) launched its official website, loaded with lots of resources and member benefits. If you visit teachchemistry.org, you will find many great tools that K–12 teachers of chemistry can use in their classrooms; the new online periodical, Chemistry Solutions; professional development opportunities; and a community for you, in addition to many other benefits.

Melting Pennies

Tom Kuntzleman | Tue, 08/26/2014 - 13:34

I am fascinated by the chemistry of pennies. I have tried several experiments found in the Journal of Chemical Education.

Seeing Is Not Believing

Erica Jacobsen | Mon, 06/02/2014 - 16:35

“It sort of started to look kind of like a very pale blue.” A friend who teaches at the middle school level told me about a science experiment he’d done with his students. The procedure suggested to students that a particular solution would turn blue, but also asked them to write down what they saw happen. The thing was, it wasn’t actually designed to turn blue.

Camp Lessons

Deanna Cullen | Wed, 04/23/2014 - 13:10

I attended 5th grade camp with my son, Stevie, this week. Camp Miniwanca is a beautiful property between the vastness of Lake Michigan and a much smaller inland Stony Lake. The program is based upon the "experiential learning cycle". Small groups of campers work through a series of challenges. The counselors and chaperones allow the children to struggle, disagree and fail. Of course, success is congratulated and enjoyed. Children choose their own goals for individual challenges, so they have an opportunity to strive for their "best self" and meeting or exceeding whatever goal they have made is celebrated. Children were given many team and individual responsibilities. Every part of the day at camp had a purpose. Stevie is the youngest of my children. I have chaperoned several camps before and I attended a few as a child myself and one as an adult participant. This one was by far the best run camp I have attended. Many camps give lip service to experiential learning, but the thing that I observed at Camp Miniwanca that impressed me was there attentiveness to the entire process of the experiential learning cycle.