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| navigate: home: magazine: fall 2001: article | |
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Faculty and students make chemistry fun for kids By Karen L. Trimbath | ||||||
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At the Millcreek Mall in Erie, Pa., a young boy dons a pair of safety glasses and, under the supervision of an undergraduate student, mixes chemicals in a paper cup in order to make a special “goop,” a slimy green substance that kids love to play with. Other children perform similar experiments at nearby tables, as their parents proudly watch. This educational activity is just one of a series offered through a year-round science outreach program for children administered by Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, in partnership with other regional colleges. The goal of this program is to help children better understand the nature and importance of chemistry in everyday life, said Tracy Halmi, lecturer in chemistry at Penn State Erie. She co-coordinates the program with Theresa Thewes at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. They work with area faculty and undergraduate students to bring fun, educational chemistry experiments to children throughout the region. “Science isn’t just in a book. It’s all around us,” Halmi noted. “It’s interesting and really fun.” The Penn State Erie program is inspired by National Chemistry Week, sponsored annually by the American Chemical Society (ACS) to increase public awareness of chemistry’s role in our world. While Penn State Erie and its partners participate in National Chemistry Week, the group goes one step further by offering activities throughout the year, funded with grants from ACS and the Erie Engineering Societies Council. Area partners include faculty from Edinboro University, Allegheny College, the University of Pittsburgh at Titusville, Gannon University, Mercyhurst College and industry. This partnership offers positive networking opportunities for all involved, including collaboration on projects and the exchange of ideas. Educational activities range from testing foods for fats and starch to the role of recycling in polymer chemistry, among other topics. An especially popular experiment among children of all ages is learning how to make a slimy “goop,” Halmi said. The Penn State Erie group also sponsors contests in local schools, with winning schools receiving visits from participating faculty and undergraduate students, who involve the entire student body in presentations and experiments. Each year during National Chemistry Week, the group provides 25 hands-on activities at the Millcreek Mall. A separate program is held for younger children each November at the expErience Children’s Museum. Undergraduate students are an important component of the program. Many are members of their schools’ chemistry clubs and are interested in becoming chemistry teachers. These students staff all outreach activities, guide children through experiments and teach them the fundamentals of chemistry. “It’s a great experience for my students,” Halmi said. “They’re not just volunteering, they’re learning how to become teachers. When they begin teaching, they’ll be asking us to come in and work with their own students.” An outreach program of Penn State Erie | |||||
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