NESACS Celebrates IYC at Hanover Day

R to L Emmanuel College Students (3) ,  NESACS members (2) &  Prof. Jaworek-Lopes

Saturday June 25, 2011
Town Commons, Hanover, Massachusetts 

 

On June 25, 2011, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., citizens of Hanover, Massachusetts, and their friends celebrated Hanover Day. The Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society:  NESACS  reserved a table as a civic organization in order to introduce the denizens of the South Shore to the International Year of Chemistry.  The organizer of the event, Prof. Christine Jaworek-Lopes of Emmanuel College, Boston, performed hands-on science activities at the table alongside her students garbed in chemistry t-shirts. 

The activities involved:
•    Making a UV detector bracelet and discussing why we use sunscreen;

UV sensitive beads - discussion about wearing sunscreen and testing the UV protectiveness of different windows at home

goldenrod paper - The goldenrod paper is colored with a dye which is an acid-base indicator. It turns bright red in bases (eg. solutions of ammonia, baking soda or washing soda) and golden-yellow in acids (eg.vinegar or lemon juice). 

Experiments were as follows:

-With a Q-Tip, "booth" visitors wrote a message with household ammonia. As the ammonia evaporated, the red message disappeared.

The NESACS table was located near the live music stage and the Italian Ice stand. The uv bead bracelets dangling from the tent enticed passerby's to stop and they were invited by booth staff to make their own bracelet. Once they were stringing beads they learned about the chemistry behind the uv sensitive beads. When the beads turn color it's time to put suntan lotion on! Adults and children alike really got how cool summertime chemistry is at Hanover Day thanks to Prof. Jaworek-Lopes and her students.

 











In addition, Prof. Jaworek-Lopes collected funds for the PUR project and handed out copies of the Earth Day edition of Celebrating Chemistry.
  
It was fun to "come and play at Hanover Day"!