Halloween Fun at the San Antonio Children's Museum

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! 

Mole Day!

October 20, 2010


Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the adventure Science. ~Edwin Powell Hubble, The Nature of Science, 1954


Celebrated annually on October 23 from 6:02 a.m. to 6:02 p.m., Mole Day commemorates Avogadro’s Number (6.02 x 10 ^23), which is a basic measuring unit in chemistry. Mole Day was engendered to foster interest in chemistry. Many schools throughout the United States and around the world celebrate Mole Day with various activities related to chemistry. Trinity was no exception to this celebration. As the Trinity Chemistry Club, we put together an event open to students, professors, or any fellow chemistry lovers. The goal of our event was to entertain the audience with fun experiments and educate them about mole day and the chemistry behind our experiments.


In general, one mole of any substance contains Avogadro’s Number of molecules or atoms of that substance. This relationship was first discovered by Amadeo Avogadro (1776-1858). The relationship between one mole of a substance and how much physical substance one mole represents is difficult for many students to imagine. Thus, there are several examples to exhibit just how large one mole of a substance truly is:
•One mole of paper would make a stack that would reach to the moon more than 80 billion times.
•One mole of blood cells would be more than the total number of blood cells found in every human on earth.
•One mole of seconds is about 19 quadrillion years, 4,240,666 times the age of the earth, or 954,150 times the age of the universe itself.


Not only did we talk about what a mole is, we also performed 9 exciting experiments: nitrogen tri-iodide, fire resistant chemistry tests, the silver mirror reaction, the miracle reaction: changing water to wine to milk to beer, methanol rocket, elephant toothpaste, the oscillating clock reaction, colored fire,helium balloons and our trademark experiment: liquid nitrogen ice cream.

HHMI Science Academy

October 1, 2010

"People do not grow old no matter how long we live. We never cease to stand like curious children before the great Mystery into which we were born."

  

Albert Einstein

© All Rights Reserved to Kimberly Messersmith

In accordance with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant, Trinity University hosts the HHMI Trinity Science Academy on our campus. This program brings 7^th grade science students from Bonham, Harris, Hawthorne, Twain, and Wheatley middle schools (SAISD) to the Trinity campus to participate in science experiments. Not only does this engage the students in scientific discovery, but it also allows the students to experience what life as a college science student might be like. The goal isn’t to solicit these students to come to Trinity, but to motivate these underprivileged students to be college bound.

This Friday, the second floor of Mars McClean was packed with Wheatley middle school students. Whenever I arrived, the students were excitedly lining up for lunch. Trinity faculty, Trinity students, and Wheatley students shared a lunch together around the Miller fountain. As I sat down with a group of students, I tried to understand their interests and how their day was going. There were varying interests around the group such as football, band, basketball, and several others. From this discussion, we were able to springboard into how you could still do the activities you love in college. For most of the students, college seemed like another lifetime, but I hope it planted the seed that the opportunity is open to them. After lunch, I did an experiment with a group of 10 students figuring out how much sugar is in 50 mL of regular Caprisun, 100% juice Caprisun, Cranberry juice, and Hawiian Punch. By doing this experiment, the students learned about theoretical and experimental yield, units, and the scientific process. Furthermore, we were able to discuss how to read nutritional facts labels and compare the amount of sugar to the morning experiment with sodas. Many of the students declared they would no longer drink sodas because of the experiments they did today. Although this could be a one-day pledge, I believe it effectively demonstrates how the discovery of knowledge can change our actions. My hope is that these students not only discovered more about science but also more about themselves, and this gain may increase the ambitions and goals for themselves. 

San Antonio Children's Museum

September 11,2010

"Science does not know its debt to imagination."  Ralph Waldo Emerson

Excitement and eagerness fill up the room like a gas fills up its container. Smiles and amazement spread across individuals’ faces as scientific concepts are explained. There is even the occasional declaration, “Wow, science is so cool!” This is either a description of a science professor’s nightly dreams or chemistry club demonstrations at the San Antonio Children’s Museum. In this case, I am describing the wonderful volunteering opportunity at the San Antonio’s Children Museum. Since I joined Chemistry Club my freshman year, I have been going to the Children’s Museum every other Saturday to share my love of science to the kids there. I enjoy it so much that I became VP of Outreach for the Chemistry Club. With a group of three to five people, we perform experiments to explain basic chemistry concepts. The experiments we usually perform include a water “tornado”, the “disappearing” Styrofoam cup, the magic potions, the amazing color changing solutions, and the making of slime. Instead of going into all of the details about each experiment, I want to encourage you to come volunteer or watch them in action at the Children’s Museum! Not only do you impart your passion for the sciences, but you also are encouraged by the pure enthusiasm and creativity that the children share with you. It is truly a unique and wonderful way to enhance your diligent work in lecture and lab.

children's museum by Leigh Anna Logsdon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Student Involvement Fair

August 27, 2010

A chemistry professor couldn't resist interjecting a little philosophy into a class lecture. He interrupted his discussion on balancing chemical equations, saying, "Remember, if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate!"

At the start of every academic year, all of the Trinity clubs gather on the football field before the welcome back concert to display their club to other students. Each club, eager for more members, brings out all the stops to attract people walking by. Chemistry Club is no exception. While some clubs have candy, pictures, or pens, Chemistry Club has liquid nitrogen ice cream, acid-base reactions with dry ice, and brightly colored solutions. With the stigma of being a “dorky” club, these exhibitions draw people to our table that may not have come because of pre-conceived notions. From elementary school until high school, the media and peers filter images and degrading terms for students who like school, especially the natural sciences and mathematics. But here at Trinity, I feel like students are encouraged to explore many different fields, which break down the stereotypes and lead to new interests. The receptive attitude of the Trinity student body was reflected by the academic, social, and sports clubs intermixed throughout the football field. For me, Chemistry Club was a great way to meet older students, learn about possible scientific careers, volunteer, and share my passion. My advice to enhance any college experience is to join the clubs you like, truly become involved and connected, and embrace your inner nerd.