The Brown & White

Lehigh's American Chemical Society held a chemistry demo for local elementary school students last Monday at Fritz Church in honor of National Chemistry Week.

The students were shown five experiments. The first, called Elephant Toothpaste, was made with peroxide, dish soap and sodium iodide, and a bubbly explosion occurred when all three ingredients were mixed together.

In the second experiment, fake worms were made out of alginate and calcium chloride. The children were all eager to act as assistants and touch the worms. When asked what the worms felt like, a student responded with, "if you ever touched your brain, that's what this feels like."

When making slime out of borax and glue mixed in plastic bags, a problem arose when the slime would not harden enough.

Still, the children were eager to touch anything remotely goopy.

"That's the beauty of science, when things don't turn out as planned, you learn from your mistakes for next time," club member Jafar Hussain, '11, said.

The demos ended with a classic combination: baking soda and vinegar. First, the children were shown a volcano when the two were mixed. Then the students headed outside to see the "bomb," when baking soda in a paper towel pouch was dropped into a zipped plastic bag filled with vinegar, which caused it to pop.

After a few unsuccessful explosions, the students were left in amazement when the pavement became covered in a bubbling mix of vinegar and baking soda.

These demonstrations kicked off National Chemistry Week. The festivities continued throughout the week, with goggle dying on Tuesday in the Lower UC.

On Wednesday, the club teamed up with Alpha Chi Sigma, Lehigh's chemistry fraternity, to demonstrate chemical experiments for Lehigh students. The demos, held in the lobby of Mudd Building, allowed students to watch and participate in the activities.

Professor Keith Schray, adviser to Lehigh's chapter of the American Chemical Society, said that his favorite event was on Thursday, when Lehigh alumna and Just Born, Inc. employee Christina Schindler gave a speech about the chemistry of food making.

"Activities like these rephrase the profile of chemistry, which has not had the best of public relations in the past," said Schray.

Just Born is known for making Mike and Ikes, and Marshmallow Peeps, a topic that makes chemistry seem more approachable.

While at Lehigh, Schindler had always imagined going into the field of pharmaceuticals, but realized that there were many more options within the field of chemistry.

Schindler, who was involved with the chemistry society at Lehigh, said that it was a weird experience for her to be contacted to come speak at Lehigh, when she vividly remembered being on the other side of the speeches as a student.

The club held its final event last Friday - "Mole day" - showing the movie "Evolution," and decorating cupcakes in honor of their favorite chemical elements.

Though National Chemistry Week is the focal point for the American Chemical Society, it is not the club's only event.

The club is very involved with community outreach, and is especially involved with local elementary schools, Jessica Fraser, '11, president of the club, said. "Our goal is just to spread chemistry throughout the campus and community," she said.

The club has approximately 40 members and spends most of its meetings planning future events, Fraser said. The next big event planned is a holiday dinner for students and faculty.

"Everything they do is on their own, and the enthusiasm they generate is impressive," Professor Schray said.

The club is always looking for new members who have an interest in chemistry and are looking to get involved at Lehigh and in the surrounding community. The club meets in Mudd Building 353 twice a month on Fridays at noon.