Recently, the TCNJ Student Chemists Association (SCA) participated in a number of events for the 2015 National Chemistry Week. On Saturday, October 17th, 9 members of SCA performed a demo on spectroscopy for museum patrons in the Chem Expo at Liberty Science Center. Attendees were able to view the spectra of various light sources, including an incandescent light bulb, a hydrogen lamp, and fluorescent lights, illustrating 2015 National Chemistry Week’s theme of “color”.
On Friday, October 23rd, SCA held a Green Chemistry Scavenger Hunt for TCNJ chemistry freshmen. Participants took pictures of their teams performing activities or finding scavenger hunt locations after solving chemistry-related clues. Some examples included “Take a picture with your group on the steps of a hall whose name could indicate that they minimize the use and generation of hazardous substances” (Ans: Green Hall), and “Take a picture of your team with a large object on campus that resembles a 1s orbital” (Ans: The Pixels). Participants also created skits based on principles of green chemistry, and the winners of the scavenger hunt will be going to Red Berry in Campus Town!
On October 23rd, 9 SCA members also participated in Princeton University’s National Chemistry Week 2015 Color Activities Night. There were 750 people in attendance at the event, and SCA members invited both children and adults to explore an exciting demo on marker chromatography which involved drawing on coffee filters with washable markers that were then dipped into water. This allowed attendees to watch the colors of the marker separate on the coffee filter. The colorful coffee filters were then turned into butterflies and flowers using pipe cleaners.
