October 30, 2010
“Everybody's a mad scientist, and life is their lab. We're all trying to experiment to find a way to live, to solve problems, to fend off madness and chaos.”
David Cronenberg
In the middle of San Antonio’s downtown, there were potions bubbling, fog creeping, and slime oozing from a spooky chemistry laboratory. There were no lightening strikes bringing the creature of Dr. Frankenstein alive, but there was an atmosphere of excitement and eagerness that filled the air. This excitement engendered from the children who observed and participated in our chemistry experiments at the San Antonio Children’s Museum. Although the chemistry club goes to the Children’s Museum every other weekend, this weekend our normal routine was “vamped” up for the spirit of Halloween. The chemistry club members who volunteered went as a black cat, a Trinity tiger, and a mad scientist. Not only did we dress up, but we also did some spooky experiments. For example, we performed the Harry Potter Pop Rock potion. The potion is created by adding pop rocks to colored water, then sequentially adding in baking soda, food coloring, lemon juice, and sugar . This mixture creates a fizzing potion that even a muggle can appreciate. Also, the children could make their own slime with glue, food coloring, a tad of water, and the secret ingredient: an aqueous solution of borax! But the real finale to the Halloween tricks and treats was turning chocolate milk into ice cream by using liquid nitrogen. Chemistry really is sweet!
No comments:
Post a Comment