Pupils from five East Midlands schools took part in a day of chemistry lectures, workshops and quizzes designed to stimulate their interest in science. The event sponsored by Chemistry: The Next Generation was designed to get students to think about what life would be like without chemists and the discoveries they make with workshops and lectures provided by chemistry departments from the Universities of Leicester, Lincoln, Nottingham, Nottingham Trent University and industrial sponsor AstraZeneca.
The event, at Nottingham Trent University, started with a lecture outlining how different life would be without many of the things taken for granted - plastics, manmade materials, and the chemicals in everyday products such as shower gels and toothpaste. The lecture also highlighted the advances in modern technology currently being developed by chemists around the world. Students were then challenged to a 'What's my line' style quiz. and had to guess the different job titles for the guest chemists employed by different companies and organisations. This gave the students a chance to discover more about the variety of careers available to a chemistry graduate. The feedback from this activity demonstrated how it had changed the students perception of what chemists do. Responses to the statement "The most interesting things about being a chemist are....." included:
"You can create new technology and things no one has done before, or improve on what someone has already created. It allows you to stretch your imagination, and you can discover new things"
"Getting to learn things, discover new substances, and possibly make discoveries that change the world"
"Going to work with all sorts of people in different professions, being able to attempt to discover your dreams and learning about the ways things work"
"A chemist can do a wide variety of jobs"
Students also attended two different workshops including a forensics chemistry activity, 3D molecular modelling, colour chemistry and 'cooking with chemistry' workshop during which students studied the effect of enzymes on jelly and made ice cream that sets instantly using liquid nitrogen at -192 °C (just like the famous chef, Heston Blumenthal). This was definitely a recipe for success with the students!
The day finished in style with an exciting demonstration lecture containing plenty of spectacular firework based experiments ideally suitable for this fireworks day event, the flashes and bangs were a big hit with everyone. The day ended with prize presentations for the chemistry quizzes held during the day.
Companies and universities who supported the event this year included: Chemistry: The Next Generation, AstraZeneca, The Space Academy, CELS, Nottingham Trent University, University of Nottingham, University of Leicester, and the University of Lincoln. Chemistry: The Next Generation is administered by the RSC
The schools that participated were Hind Leys Community College, Moat Community College, Castle Donington Community College, Garibaldi School and Priory LSST.