National Science Week got off to an exciting start in an Armidale shopping centre last week when scientists from the University of New England entertained shoppers with practical experiments in the chemistry of everyday life.
Dr Michelle Taylor and Dr Erica Smith from UNE Chemistry, assisted by several of their colleagues and students, gave intrigued members of the public at Centro shopping centre an insight into the chemistry behind some of the sights, smells and sounds they encounter in the home and in the workplace.
“We aimed to show people something of the science involved in their everyday lives,” Dr Taylor said. “And we were kept pretty busy doing so. Although we stayed an hour longer than we had intended, they still didn’t want us to go.”
The demonstrations included the chemistry of liquid nitrogen, dry ice and hot packs, the making of latex rubber balls, and “scratch-and-sniff” cards linking the smells of chemical compounds to their molecular structure.
This was the first event in “Far Out Science”, a series of events that UNE staged throughout last week’s National Science Week with the help of a grant from the Commonwealth Government. The other events included a two-day “Science in the Bush” experience at UNE for school students; and “Radical Wine” – an evening of discovery about the science of winemaking.
“More than 800 school students from throughout northern NSW travelled to UNE last Thursday and Friday to take part in hands-on activities designed to help them realise that the study of science – and the pursuit of a scientific career – can involve a lot of fun. ‘Science in the Bush’ also helped them to appreciate the relevance of science to all aspects of our lives,” Dr Taylor said.
“Our National Science Week grant from the Commonwealth Government has enabled more students than ever to experience UNE’s ‘Science in the Bush’,” Dr Taylor said.
