Mole Day (Oct 23) has come and gone. My attention turns now to turkeys and Thanksgiving. For the Silicon Valley ACS section, it is time to focus on the election of new officers for the coming year. But we can also reflect on the celebration of Mole Day and the National Chemistry Week (NCW) events last month. As I described in my October Chair’s message, our section put a lot of effort into National Chemistry Week (NCW). This year’s theme was “The Healing Power of Chemistry”.
The Silicon Valley local section embraced the National Chemistry Week and conducted events at 4 different venues:
- Martin Luther King Library, San Jose
- Salinas Community Science Center, Salinas
- Ronald McDonald House, Palo Alto
- Redwood City Library, Redwood City
Over 300 students participated in the experiments which encompassed some old favorites like Slime and Boo Bubbles and some new experiments including “Cloudy with a Chance of Clear” which explored the buffer power of magnesium hydroxide (Milk of Magnesia). We also debuted a medicinal plant experiment in which the students were asked to match samples of medicinal plants like eucalyptus, cloves, or rosemary to their essential oils while learning about the natural origins of many of our medicines. Boo Bubbles, which are made using dry ice, were a great way to attract attention from passers-by and draw them into the full events. In honor of the Halloween season, we incorporated iron filings in the slime mixture which made the slime more interactive and almost seem alive when a magnet was in proximity.
Ronald McDonald House is a facility where young outpatients and their families and siblings can stay while undergoing medical procedures. We made UV activated bead bracelets and played the board game that was included in the ACS Celebrating Chemistry magazine.
At the Salinas Community Science Center, we explored cochineal dye and water surface tension experiments. The center runs an afterschool program at El Sausal Middle School in Salinas where students can build projects and explore hands-on science. This was our first SVACS event at their center, and we are already planning to return.
Our section also has an ongoing hands-on science program at the Redwood City Library, where we meet with students each month for an hour and explore new science experiments. We have a regular following of students who come each month to try the new experiment. This is a particularly attractive program for home-schooled students who might not get much exposure to science. For NCW, they evaluated the buffering capacity of magnesium hydroxide.
These events were supported by the Chemistry Clubs at San Jose State University and Santa Clara University, as well as volunteers from Silicon Valley local ACS section. I’m not sure who had more fun, the students or the volunteers. And of course, each student left with a mole sticker, an ACS pencil, or a tattoo (or maybe even one of each!)
The end of the year is also the time when we conduct our elections for the Silicon Valley local section members who will serve on the Executive Committee for 2024. The polls will open for on-line voting in mid-November. Please take a few minutes and vote. We are always happy to involve more people in our local section. All you need to do is let someone on the Executive Committee know of your interest. Even if you don’t want to serve as an officer, we would be delighted to have more participation at our committee meetings and events. You can see from our website, and from all the newsletters, that we are an active local section, so there is likely something of interest to anyone who would like to get involved. The officers’ names are all shown at the end of this newsletter – reach out to us if you would like more information.
Respectively submitted,
Natalie McClure
