LOCAL EVENTS TO MARK NATIONAL CHEMISTRY WEEK

OCTOBER 18 – 24, 2009

 

 

Baton Rouge, Louisiana - National Chemistry Week (NCW) will be observed October 17–24, 2009, sponsored nationally by the American Chemical Society (ACS) and locally by the Baton Rouge Section of ACS.  This year’s theme is Chemistry – It’s Elemental! – a focus on the chemical elements and the periodic table. For example, the element helium is used in balloons, and the element copper is used to make wires and pipes.

 

Both Gov. Jindal and Mayor Holden have been asked to declare October 17–24 as National Chemistry Week.

 

Poster contest: This year Baton Rouge ACS is sponsoring a poster contest with cash prizes for students in Grades 6-8.  The poster should illustrate Chemistry – It’s Elemental. The students submit the poster to their teacher who chooses the best one in each grade and submits it to the Baton Rouge Section. The winning poster from this area will be submitted to a national contest. For information, contact Marie Metzger at Marie.metzger@basf.com.

 

October 17: Super Science Saturday: Children and their parents are invited to a hands-on chemistry program at the LSU Field House on Nicholson Drive from 10:00 to 2:00, sponsored by LSU Chemistry Department and the Baton Rouge ACS. Representatives of student groups, local companies, and scientific organizations will conduct simple, fun experiments with the children. The “admission fee” is a nonperishable item for the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank. All ages are welcome.

 

Chemistry in the Classroom:  Chemists will visit science classes in East Baton Rouge and neighboring parishes.  A number of LSU and SU chemistry students have been trained to present hands-on demonstrations to children.  In addition, local scientists will be visiting classrooms to discuss science and technology, careers, and the role chemistry plays in everyday life.  In recent years, over 10,000 students were impacted by this program.

 

Ascension Parish:  November 4–5, ChemFriends Expo: Celebrating it's 13th year, over 1,600 public, private, and home school sixth graders in Ascension Parish are invited to participate in a reverse science fair where "it's the adults who present projects to the students".  This hands-on event is sponsored by the Ascension Parish School Board, Ascension Parish Government, Gonzales Fire Department, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Southern University, and local chemical companies: Air Products, BASF, CF Industries, Dupont, Honeywell, Lion Copolymer, Motiva, OxyChem, PCS Nitrogen, Rubicon, Shell Chemicals, Westlake Chemical, and Williams.  The public is invited to attend "Community Night" from 5 to 7 pm on Nov. 5 at the Gonzales Civic Center where students often return with their families to experience the wonders of chemistry.  Visit www.chemfriends.org for more information.

 

National Chemistry Week is an outreach program of the American Chemical Society (ACS) and is aimed at enhancing public awareness of the contributions of chemistry to everyday life and to the nation’s economy.  The ACS local sections, industries, and schools celebrate with a variety of events.  The local NCW events will be sponsored by the Baton Rouge Section of the American Chemical Society, area industries, and professional organizations.

 

Baton Rouge Section is a local branch of the ACS, the world’s largest scientific society. Nationally, ACS has a membership of 158,000 chemists and chemical engineers, including nearly 600 Baton Rouge members.

 

 

For further Information:

Dr. Anne K. Taylor (225-767-3565)

akt1208@bellsouth.net

Dr. Kevin Coppola (225-767-8887)

kcoppola@cox.net