Gretchen Lockhart ’10 has something to say, and it may shock you: “Chemistry is fun.” As President of The College of Wooster’s Chemistry Club, Lockhart and her officers, Vice President Mary Kate Lockhart ’11, Treasurer Elana Stennett ’10, Secretary Blake Smith ’10 and Outreach Coordinator Max Mullen ’10, plan on-campus and off-campus activities to help spread this message to the community.
The Wooster Chemistry Club is a student chapter of the American Chemical Society (ACS). According to Lockhart, “the ACS has certain criteria to be a student chapter.”
The Chemistry Club won an Honorable Mention Chapter Award from the ACS for its activities during the 2008-2009 academic year. A plaque will be presented to a member of the chapter during the 239th ACS National Meeting in San Francisco, occurring on March 22, 2010.
Each year, Wooster’s Chemistry Club plans events to align with the ACS-established theme during National Chemistry Week, which was the week of Oct. 23. To celebrate this year’s National Chemistry Week, the group held a campus-wide social to celebrate Mole Day, prepared liquid nitrogen ice cream and carved pumpkins for Halloween.
Chemistry Club plans a number of activities off-campus to promote outreach. The group travels to Wooster elementary and high schools to perform magic-like chemistry experiments. “We try to fit [our presentations] with the curriculum,” explained Lockhart.
The group has three to five outreach programs for kindergarten to high-school aged children planned for the spring semester. Possibilities for outreach presentations include a liquid nitrogen ice cream demonstration to illustrate the nitrogen cycle, a needle and balloon experiment, a “shrinking volumes” demonstration and a dry ice experiment.
The Chemistry Club also plans to coordinate with other science groups, such as Physics Club and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Club, to host All Science Day on campus.
Last year, the event was coordinated by the Physics Club; Chemistry Club’s demonstrations created Flubber and liquid nitrogen ice cream. “We want to spread the word about chemistry, and show kids that chemistry is fun. We want to get kids interested in science” said Lockhart. Lockhart expressed an interest in developing campus-wide outreach projects.
In the past, the group has taken excursions off-campus to various chemistry-related events. Last year, for example, the group attended a food show in Cleveland, which featured Food Network star Alton Brown of Good Eats. “We’re deciding if [field trips] are something we want to do this year,” explained Lockhart.
The group also hosts speaker events throughout the academic year. Because the Department of Chemistry often hosts academic speakers, the group brings in chemical industry specialists to provide networking and education opportunities for the campus.
In early September, the club hosted Richard Hardy, the President and CEO of XIM Paint Co., headquartered in Cleveland. Future ideas include patent lawyers or chemical engineers.
New members are always welcome to attend Chemistry Club meetings, notes Lockhart, and members do not need to be Chemistry/Biochemistry and Molecular Biology majors or enrolled in courses. The Chemistry Club meets every other Sunday at 7 p.m. in Severance 123.
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