It is truly a unique opportunity to take a college course that is not only challenging, but also inspiring. Although this class required a lot of time spent in and outside of the lab, the time spent in the classrooms teaching the kids made it all worth it. Their excitement to learn new things and their renewed enthusiasm for science at the end of each class visit are what made the Chemistry Outreach program such an enjoyable and rewarding experience. During this month I created three different hands-on experiments. I should warn you now that all the experiments are somewhat messy and require easy access to sinks. Please do not let this warning discourage you from any of the experiments because I found through the class visits that messy equals fun to all students! The first experiment, Dirty Ducks was created primarily for grades K-4. Through this experiment the students will learn about the properties of soap as well as the importance of using soap while washing their hands, dishes, clothes, etc. The second experiment, Crazy About Reactions was intended for grades 4-8. This lab introduces the topic of chemical reactions, with specific emphasis on endothermic and exothermic reactions. It also teaches the students about the effects of temperature on the density of water. The third and messiest experiment, Toy Time! was created for grades K-8. In this lab, the students learn about physical properties by creating different types of putty. They will also learn about polymers and their prevalence in our everyday lives. The best part of this lab is that every student will leave with a souvenir, the putty they created!

My name is Julie, and I am a biology and psychology major at Colby College. I feel that the Chemistry Outreach program in which I participated during January of my junior year was an extraordinarily worthwhile experience, one of the best I have ever had.  Taking vague notions of student lessons, converting them first into lesson plans, and then into actual lessons that I taught in local grade schools gave me considerable insight into the world of elementary education.  In the interest of creating a fun environment for the lessons, I created mysteries for the students to solve in the three lessons I taught.  The first lesson is for younger elementary school students and involves the decoding of secret messages (Monster Under the Bed).  The second lesson is meant for slightly older children and involves measuring pH levels and using paper chromatography to solve a mystery (Mystery of the Missing Class Pet).  The third lesson requires students to use multiple forms of evidence and experimentation to solve a crime mystery by ruling out suspects, ultimately determining who had committed the crime (Mystery of the Missing Cookies).  I also created a one-hour composite lesson that incorporated the three different lessons.  The lessons are easily adapted to fit different themes, different skill levels, and the availability of different types of resources.  I hope that future students have as much fun solving these mysteries as I had in creating them.

Hello, my name is Ben Bricker and I am a senior at Colby College.  As a son of two elementary school teachers and a native of Downeast Maine, I know how difficult hands-on science activities can be for schools with limited resources.  I have thus designed three experiments that are hands-on, composed of readily available and inexpensive materials, and are suitable for grades 2-8.  In the first experiment, Chemical Inflation, students explore the states of matter, conservation of matter within a closed system, and density.  This experiment is geared towards the younger grades 2-5.  For grades 4-7, Who Was Dueling in the Great Hall? uses a Harry Potter theme to have students experiment with magical substances such as phoenix feather and unicorn hair “wand core samples” in spot plate wells to identify who was dueling in Hogwarts’ Great Hall.  In this experiment students are given reactants and a data table to fill out while they observe, record, and explore the reactivity of their samples.  Students work together as a class to identify the culprit and must justify their choice with sound reasoning and scientific evidence.  My final experiment, Who’s Polluting the River? (link to Teachers’ Kit; link to Student Worksheets), was conceived from a seventh grade request for a lab with an ecology connection.  For this lab students use a list of suspected polluters and three river water samples to identify who is dumping pollution into the Kennebec River.  This experiment was also featured in the Waterville Morning Sentinel article “Colby Students Spread Love of Science” on January 18, 2012.  I hope that my experiments are both effective at fostering excitement in science and useful for your classrooms.  Best of luck!