Colorado Local Section ACS Student Affiliates

Colorado Local Section
ACS Student Affiliates

Adams State College celebrated with an annual magic show. Their graduating seniors performed chemistry magic tricks, and then the Adams Atoms, the ACS student affiliate, did hands on activities for about 200 children from all around the San Louis Valley. They made glitter slime ("bacteria-catching snot"), watched the catalase in potatoes and liver break down hydrogen peroxide ("bubbles!"), and used tincture of iodine to test for starch in many different foods. ("But apples and potatoes are both white!") Many kids said afterwards that they really liked chemistry.

The SAACS chapters at Colorado College and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs kicked off National Chemistry week with a Mole-day COOL Science show at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. Approximately 60 volunteers came to help teach science to over 300 children, teenagers, parents, and college students.
The event consisted of two 90 minute demonstration events with such time-honored classics as the silver mirror and thermite, as well as delayed fire in the form of flaming ping-pong balls, exploding balloons, disappearing water, and other exciting large-scale Chemistry and Physics demonstrations. Between the shows, there were 2.5 hours of hands-on activities. From tie-dye t-shirts to enantiomers with different odors to floating vs. sinking soda pop cans, the audience was kept busy the entire time. This was the fourth COOL Science show, and the second to take place at UCCS. COOL Science is sponsored by Intel.

The Colorado School of Mines student affiliate hosted Dr. Georgette Siparski from the Children’s Hospital to speak to the chapter about careers in chemistry. She presented an overview of her career in the high tech and medical fields. Approximately 30 people attended her presentation.

To celebrate NCW, the Colorado State University - Pueblo (CSU-Pueblo) Chemistry Club hosted a Chemistry Day celebration. Dr. Matthew Blais, Laboratory Director, from Bechtel Corporation discussed the use of chemistry in environmental monitoring and disposal issues. The Chemistry Club also held a jeopardy/trivia competition, offered tours of the building, and hosted faculty research presentations. All local high school chemistry students were invited to attend. As an ongoing project, they are initiating a program that will involve Chemistry Club members volunteering to tutor high school students.

During NCW, Fort Lewis College's student Chemistry Club held a bake sale including cupcakes and cookies decorated with elemental symbols from the periodic table, a 'stump the chemist' panel and also a chemistry 'skit' performed by the Chemistry Club members in front of the General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry classes.

The chemistry club students at the University of Colorado - Denver held several activities for National chemistry week. They provided information on the chemistry club, health careers club, the ACS (and student affiliate group) and distributed ChemMatters. They also had a variety of information on health related issues including; blood pressure, stress, obesity, how to prevent colds, hand washing, exercise, and proper diet. Students also made large posters discussing the various nutrients humans need to be healthy. These posters included: amino acids, carbohydrates, fats and steroids, water and fat soluble vitamins, minerals. Each poster included what the chemical structure of each compound is, why our bodies need it, and what results if we don't consume enough, or consume too much of each. They also included a poster on harmful chemicals as well as UV rays, tobacco, alcohol and caffeine. They also performed several chemistry demonstrations including urine tests, making ice cream using liquid nitrogen, and made slime. They also hosted a science trivia contest which contained questions from the disciplines of biology, chemistry and physics. It was a fun and educational week for all!

The University of Northern Colorado’s (UNC) ACS Student Affiliate Chapter celebrated NCW all week on campus with a trivia contest and a “guess the number of moles of candy” contest. They also went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science on Saturday, October 23^rd to do demonstrations and provide information on health and wellness to the museum patrons. The day was sponsored by Roche. Click here to see photos from the event at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.