The 31st annual Chemistry Open House will feature interactive activities and explosively entertaining demonstrations.
Held each year during National Chemistry Week, which is celebrated this year from Oct. 21 to Oct. 27, the open house is based on the week’s theme. This year the theme is ‘Chemistry Is Out Of This World.’ The event will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday at the chemistry building on main campus.
“One of the professors from geosciences is going to have meteorites that people can look at, interact and touch,” said chemistry lecturer and outreach coordinator Stephanie McCartney. “We’re going to have small Alka Seltzer rockets that anybody can make and go outside and fly off. We’ve got another activity where we’re going to take stainless steel balls and explain how the surface of mars has that red crust layer.”
The chemistry roadshow, hosted by instructional associate professor Jim Pennington, will also be featured at the open house. Chemistry department head Simon North said the roadshow is always a favorite and something for guests look forward to.
“He brings that road show to the large auditorium here and there’s fire and smoke and explosions,” North said. “I think this is the big draw.”
McCartney said the purpose of the open house is to make science, and specifically chemistry, more accessible to people of all ages and education levels.
“The goal of the open house is to communicate the value of science and the excitement of scientific research,” North said. “The people in the department of chemistry understand the value that science has and the impact that science has on society. … It’s our job to communicate that in a way that’s understandable and relatable to nonscientists.”
At the open house, there will be four chemistry roadshows, held at 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. Visitors can check in at the welcome tent outside the chemistry building complex at the corner of Ross and Spence streets. Entry to the event is free.