On June 21 and 28, our Chem Demo Team, led by Executive Director and Outreach Coordinator Karen Morris, conducted chemistry activities for middle school students participating in the Sensing Our World summer science camps held at Jordan Hall. During each of these one-day chemistry sessions, 30 students conducted investigations of carbon dioxide to understand its density, its production and use in everyday life, its acidity in solutions, and its reactivity with magnesium. The goal was for these students to use their investigations and research information about CO2 (including phase diagrams) to create a being or life form that might survive on the planet Venus (which has an atmosphere made entirely of CO2).
Later in the week, Sensing Our World participants demonstrated the knowledge they gained at the end-of-conference poster session, and the dry ice was a big hit!
The Chem Demo team developed all materials relevant to the activities of the day (including pre/post test assessments), and supervised all students in the Jordan Hall 4th floor labs. Team members also supervised participants wishing to share their chemistry knowledge during the poster session.