February 14, 2012

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Chemistry teachers: Request a free chemistry activity kit from ACS

By Michelle Clement

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This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American

The following is an e-mail I received from the ACS Kids & Chemistry Program Manager. I'm re-posting it here to spread the word. If you know any chemistry school teachers who might benefit from this program, please forward them the relevant info.

With the support of a grant from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, the American Chemical Society has developed a science activity kit for teachers to use with their students. This kit, titled Chemistry: Investigating your World, is being mailed to teachers who request it and meet the following criteria:

•               They plan to use the kit with a minimum of twelve 4th-8th grade students.

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•               They request that the kit be sent to a school address within the continental United States.

Do you know a teacher who should know about this free chemistry kit?

If so, please forward the information below.

Request a FREE Science Activity Kit to celebrate the International Year of Chemistry 2011!

Although it’s now 2012, Chemistry: Investigating Your World kits are still available.  The kit is designed with enough materials for multiple classes of 12 to 32 students, working in groups of 4. The activities, reading level, and content are appropriate for students in fourth through eighth grades.

Request a kit at www.acs.org/iyckit.

Using the lessons in the kit, students will see demonstrations and do hands-on activities while investigating clues of chemical change, including:

·         Production of a gas

·         Formation of a precipitate

·         Color Change

·         Change in temperature

Check out the four lessons to find out how meeting scientists around the world, investigating clues of chemical change, and real-life applications make learning chemistry relevant and fun. Then be sure to request your free kit as soon as possible. Supplies are limited!

"Life creates [the Force], makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter," Yoda explains in The Empire Strikes Back, gesturing to Luke's physical body. This quote is striking because of the apt juxtaposition of the wonder of life with its often disgusting vessel. Like many other animals, we secrete, excrete, expectorate, defecate, flatulate, regurgitate, urinate, circulate, masticate, menstruate, ejaculate, and ventilate. We are filled with gas and feces and blood and guts and mucus and any number of rude things. Life as we know it is possible because of the countless impolite things we do every day. Are we luminous beings? Perhaps, but that's neither here nor there. This blog is about the crude matter that keeps us alive.

Michelle Clement has a B.Sc. in zoology (with a minor in American culture studies) and a M.Sc. in organismal biology from The Ohio State University. Her thesis research was on the ecophysiology of epidermal lipids and water homeostasis in house sparrows. She now works as a technical editor for The American Chemical Society. Her broader interests include weird human and animal physiology, obesity and enteric physiology, endocrinology, sexual and reproductive health, personal genomics, anthropology (physical and cultural), sociology, and science education and communication. She lives in Ohio with her boyfriend and two cats.

More by Michelle Clement

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