From Oct. 20 to 26, American Chemical Society volunteers from 114 local sections, four international chemical sciences chapters, and several student chapters hosted hands-on activities and demonstrations for National Chemistry Week 2024 (NCW 2024).
This year’s theme was “Picture Perfect Chemistry.” The volunteers educated thousands of members of the public about chemistry’s role in photography and imaging. They also distributed free ACS resources, including the magazine Celebrating Chemistry. This year, 72,750 copies in English and 7,750 copies in Spanish were distributed. In addition, 32 sections participated in an illustrated poem contest for K–12 students.
“NCW 2024 was a picture-perfect success with local sections and other groups of chemists hosting thousands of children and families at their events with exciting hands-on demonstrations of chemistry,” Lori Stepan, chair of the ACS Committee on Community Activities, says in an email.
Volunteers this year were required to adhere to the ACS Youth Protection Policy for the first time. Since Sept. 1, all volunteers at ACS-hosted outreach events are required to clear an ACS background check. “The new Youth Protection Policy for ACS volunteers was reported to move quickly and smoothly,” says Stepan. “Most volunteers felt that the safety and security of our younger participants was of utmost importance and willingly submitted their clearance materials.” As of Oct. 31, more than 1,500 ACS background checks had been completed, with an average turnaround time of 12 h.
The following are highlights of the NCW 2024 events:
The California Section supported the 2024 Science in the Park event at California State University, East Bay. The volunteers demonstrated with ultraviolet (UV)–sensitive color-changing beads, cyanotype imaging paper, and ferromagnetic fluid sheets that detect magnetic fields.
Four adults stand behind a table containing tubs of beads and other items.
Credit: Alex Madonik
California Section volunteers run a booth with hands-on activities at California State University East Bay's Science in the Park event.
The Central Massachusetts Local Section created a demonstration explaining the photosensitivity of silver salts for students at the Boys and Girls Club of Leominster.
The Central Ohio Valley Section hosted an outreach activity at a fall festival at Heritage Farm Museum and Village in Huntington, West Virginia. Section members and Marshall University students helped children create nature art prints with cyanotype paper and sunlight and taught them to use diffraction glasses to view atomic emission spectra from helium and neon discharge lamps.
The Central Wisconsin Local Section ran an imaging activity at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point’s Homecoming and Family Day. Volunteers showed more than 50 children and their families how scientists use probes to image atoms and molecules.
The District of Columbia’s Chemical Society of Washington hosted activities at the Spooky Mad Science Expo in Alexandria, Virginia. More than 100 children and their families engaged in activities such as using magnets to explain the imaging of atoms, making UV light prints with stencils of the NCW logo, and viewing the security markings on a $5 bill.
A child and two adult volunteers watch an event attendee look through a pinhole camera.
Credit: Nevart Tahmazian
A pinhole camera is among the activities offered by the Chemical Society of Washington at the Spooky Mad Science Expo.
The Cincinnati Section coordinated hands-on experiments and demonstrations at 30 library branches and the Cincinnati Museum Center. These efforts reached 424 children and 167 adults.
The Columbus Section ran an outreach event for students at an Ethiopian Tewahedo Social Services site. Volunteers demonstrated traditional photography negatives and helped students use stencils and transparencies to create images on UV-sensitive paper.
The East Tennessee Section organized its 34th annual chemistry show at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. It also held science shows at local schools, organized talks at Pellissippi State Community College and at a Tennessee Science Teachers Association meeting in Murfreesboro, and ran a group viewing of an ACS Program-in-a-Box interactive livestream broadcast.
Two people wearing safety goggles in a laboratory hold a stick with a cup attached.
Credit: Doug Stuart
Al Hazari, a retired chemistry lecturer at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, fronts the East Tennessee Section’s 34th annual chemistry show.
Events organized by the Hampton Roads Local Section and an affiliated student chapter included a movie night in a local planetarium and a demonstration table at the First Landing State Park Fall Fest in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The student chapter also organized a Mole Day scavenger hunt.
The Illinois Heartland Section and Illinois College students hosted a watch party for an ACS Program-in-a-Box broadcast.
The Kentucky Local Section conducted demonstration shows at two universities, events which were complemented by luncheons, dinners, socials, game nights, and giveaways. It also distributed copies of Celebrating Chemistry to local elementary schools.
The Lake Superior Local Section held a Mole Day celebration with the College of Saint Scholastica’s Chemistry and Biochemistry Club.
The Louisville Local Section hosted demonstrations for elementary school students at the Kentucky Science Center. It also distributed resources to local elementary schools.
The Maryland Section conducted 19 separate events in public libraries and for homeschool cooperatives. Students learned about cyanotype paper and the similarities between human vision and camera function. They also used origami pinhole cameras, wrote secret messages, and made bracelets with UV-sensitive color-changing beads.
Two children in safety glasses look at beads under an ultraviolet flashlight.
Credit: Miller Branch Library, Howard County Library System
Volunteers from the Maryland Section organized nearly 20 events with hands-on activities such as exploring beads that change color under ultraviolet light.
Texas’s Midland College Student Chapter, also called the Midland College Chemistry Club, conducted hands-on activities and demonstrations at the Midland Park Mall.
The Nigeria International Chemical Sciences Chapter and its student chapters hosted a weeklong celebration for students, educators, and the general public. The event included activities aimed at fostering a deeper appreciation for chemistry and its role in solving global challenges.
One adult and three children stand in front of an ACS promotional poster and hold a large piece of paper with a purple mark on it.
Credit: ACS Nigeria International Chemical Sciences Chapter
The international student chapter from Rivers State University in Nigeria ran an electrochemistry lab for children where they anodized the surface of titanium to create a purple color.
Dana M. Barry of the Northern New York Local Section discussed photography and cameras with students at the Saint Catherine of Siena Academy in Canton and distributed copies of Celebrating Chemistry to other local schools. The SUNY Plattsburgh Student Chapter also hosted an ACS Program-in-a-Box event.
Louisiana’s Ouachita Valley Local Section organized hands-on experiments related to polymer chemistry at the Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge and at local universities. It also hosted water chemistry and atmospheric chemistry activities at a local magnet school.
The Pensacola Section partnered with the University of West Florida Chemistry Club, an ACS student chapter, to host its third annual NCW tie-dye T-shirt event. It also ran an ACS Program-in-a-Box event with over 175 attendees and distributed Celebrating Chemistry magazines to elementary schools in Escambia County.
The Pittsburgh Section hosted 3 days of photography and lens experiments attended by 75 high school students at the Carnegie Science Center. It also organized an exposition-style event at the same site with exhibitors from companies, universities, and government agencies. This event saw 400 students and 100 families take part in activities, demonstrations, and career sessions.
Members of the Portland Local Section partnered with the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry to run hands-on activities. Visitors learned about cyanotype image development, X-ray imaging, scanning probe microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy.
The Puerto Rico Section hosted its annual Festival de Química at Paseo de la Princesa in San Juan, attracting hundreds of children and their families. Over 300 volunteers organized hands-on activities, demonstrations, contests, and workshops.
The Richland Section organized a large outreach event at Eastern Oregon University. A total of 85 students from grades 6–8 engaged in hands-on activities to solve the puzzle “Something’s Fishy: An Environmental Mystery.” Activities included a station exploring the use of fluorescence and imaging to identify fish diseases.
A student in safety goggles looks into a cardboard box with a fluorescent lamp on the top.
Credit: Anna G. Cavinato
A fluorescent lamp is used for clue hunting during the Richland Section's environmental mystery event.
California’s Silicon Valley Local Section hosted outreach events attended by hundreds of children at the Redwood City Public Library and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library in San Jose.
A child and adult wearing safety glasses point an ultraviolet flashlight at a stencil.
Credit: Jigisha Shah
Volunteers from the Silicon Valley Local Section helped visitors make cyanotype art at events at two local libraries.
The South Central Missouri Local Section ran demonstrations and hands-on experiments at the Missouri University of Science and Technology’s Spooky Fall Festival. It also distributed resources throughout Phelps County.
The South Florida Section and local student chapters coordinated hands-on activities during the Spooky Science Monster Mash at the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science. The Florida International University Biscayne Bay Campus Student Chapter also organized a Mole Day scavenger hunt and an ACS Program-in-a-Box watch party. The Barry University Chemistry Club, an ACS student chapter, conducted a photography workshop.
The Southern Nevada Local Section partnered with the Discovery Children’s Museum in Las Vegas to offer hands-on activities for children. Topics included polarizers, filters, transmission electron microscopes, liquid crystals, UV light, and refraction. It also organized a seminar with approximately 20 college student attendees.
The Tennessee Tech University Student Chapter hosted a research presentation by a senior chemistry major. It also distributed Celebrating Chemistry magazines and other promotional items to a local elementary school.
The University of Arizona Chemistry Club, an ACS student chapter, helped host a demonstration show for students at the university.
The University of Mississippi Student Members of the ACS distributed periodic table cookies and NCW merchandise to fellow students. It also hosted a seminar by chemistry professor Jason Ritchie on the chemistry of photography.
The Upper Ohio Valley Local Section arranged for Marietta College faculty to host two chemical magic shows featuring many colorful and fast chemical reactions. These were attended by students and families from 15 local elementary schools.
The Western Michigan Local Section held its annual Chemistry at the Mall event at Woodland Mall in Kentwood. Volunteers from local companies and universities performed hands-on chemistry with the public.
NCW 2025 will take place Oct. 19–25 with the theme “The Hidden Life of Spices.” Information on how to get involved can be found at www.acs.org/ncw. More details on the ACS youth protection policy are available here: www.acs.org/ypp.
NCW 2024 National Illustrated Poem Contest Winners
As part of the National Chemistry Week 2024 celebrations, local sections of the American Chemical Society hosted a “Picture Perfect Chemistry” illustrated poem contest for K–12 students. In all, 32 local sections submitted poems that won their local competitions to the national illustrated poem contest. These are the winners of this year’s national competition.
Grades K–2
First place: Demi P., South Florida Section
A poem titled “Perfect Film” is accompanied by illustrations depicting movie film.
Credit: Demi P./ACS South Florida Section
Second place: Clio B., Binghamton Local Section
A poem about the chemistry of photography is accompanied by an illustration of a person standing next to a camera on a tripod.
Credit: Clio B./ACS Binghamton Local Section
Grades 3–5
First place: Sebastian B., Pittsburgh Section
A poem titled “The Chemistry of Camera Film” is accompanied by an illustration of a strip of film.
Credit: Sebastian B./ACS Pittsburgh Section
Second place: Arnodeep D., Southwest Georgia Section
A poem titled “Picture Perfect Chemistry” is accompanied by illustrations of a roll of film and of the countryside.
Credit: Arnodeep D./ACS Southwest Georgia Section
Grades 6–8
First place: Maya M., Chemical Society of Washington
A poem about the chemistry of photography is accompanied by illustrations depicting the various chemistries that take place when a photo is taken with a camera that uses film.
Credit: Maya M./Chemical Society of Washington
Second place: Jennyliz S., Puerto Rico Section
A poem about the chemistry of photography is accompanied by illustrations including a scientist, a camera, beakers containing liquids, and chemical structures.
Credit: Jennyliz S./ACS Puerto Rico Section
Grades 9–12
First place: Mary W., Philadelphia Section
A poem titled “Radioactive Imaging” is accompanied by an illustration of a person undergoing a nuclear medicine scan.
Credit: Mary W./ACS Philadelphia Section
Second place: Jacob Z., Cincinnati Section.
A poem titled “Prussian Blue” is accompanied by illustrations including artwork hung on a wall and chemical structures.
Credit: Jacob Z./ACS Cincinnati Section
Nina Notman is a freelance writer based in Salisbury, England.
Chemical & Engineering News
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