Union College Chemistry Club: Forming bonds with the local community

CHED 1431

Laura M. Castellano, Christopher J. Backlund, Daniel C. Bailey, Amanda J. Barrow, Alexander J. Carrese, Olga Davydenko, Sadie G. Gorman, Emily C. Green, Fariha H. Ramay, Monica L Tse, Mary K. Carroll, carrollm@union.edu, and Laura A MacManus-Spencer, macmanul@union.edu. Department of Chemistry, Union College, Science & Engineering, 807 Union Street, Schenectady, NY 12308
The Union College Chemistry Club participates in a variety of interesting activities to illustrate the fun and importance of chemistry in everyday life. The Chemistry Club is actively involved in outreach, visiting local elementary schools and leading the children in an assortment of experiments. The experiments involve topics such as density, polymers, air pressure, and also environmental awareness. We were particularly active in outreach during National Chemistry Week. On Mole Day, an experiment involving a combustion reaction, which causes a fireball to emanate from the mouth of a jack-o-lantern, was performed in front of our campus center. Also, we participated in the ENY ACS section's NCW event at the New York State Museum. In keeping with the theme “The Many Faces of Chemistry,” we painted children's faces with fluorescent face paint and set up a dark tent for the children to observe the fluorescent properties of the paint.