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NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Leah Jackson (jacksonl@nsula.edu
)
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466
9/27/2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATCHITOCHES-The Northwestern State University chapter of the American Chemical Society (ACS) Student Affiliates earned a "Commendable" award from the ACS in recognition of the chapter's community outreach programs.
The chapter participated in several events to convey the impact that chemistry has on everyone's lives, including National Chemistry Week, annually held the middle of October, and Science Day, in which high school seniors were invited to the NSU Chemistry and Physics Department to conduct experiments. The group organized several fund raisers, including a poker night, 5K run and car wash, and visited local schools to demonstrate activities like tie-dying.
The chapter participated in ChemDemo in which they performed two experiments for local schools and later presented the activity in poster format the National ACS meeting in Anaheim, where only 25 schools were chosen to participate.
This year the students are planning a ChemChallenge, in which they will create an accurate piece of instrumentation to enter in ACS competition. The chapter is developing a Kids & Chemistry program and will participate in a workshop led by an associate of the ACS Education Division.
The 20-plus member chapter is under the direction of faculty advisors Dr. Gillian Rudd and Dr. Walter Flomer.
"The Kids & Chemistry program provides resources and training for scientists to do hands-on chemistry activities with elementary school children," Rudd said. "The workshop that our students will attend is intended to familiarize them with Kids & Chemistry activities, to suggest and demonstrate ways of developing their own activities. The workshop will help participants recruit volunteers and actually do science experiments with young children.
"The greatest strength of the program is the exposure that young children get to real scientists who are excited about what they do and who care about children," Rudd said.
Chapter president Ashley Dunham will accept the award at the spring national meeting in San Diego next year.