CGSA Celebrates National Chemistry Week 2024

In celebration of National Chemistry Week (NCW) 2024, a public awareness campaign highlighting the importance of chemistry in everyday life, the Chemistry Graduate Student Association (CGSA) at North Carolina State University (NC State) organized a Science Festival at Dorothea Dix Park on October 19. The event aimed to engage the public, particularly elementary and secondary school children, with positive messages about chemistry. Over 100 volunteers came together to promote the relevance of science through interactive, hands-on activities. More than 300 children and attendees explored over 30 tables and 18 activities, where they participated in experiments, learned about scientific concepts, and were encouraged to ask questions.

The theme of the event was “Picture Perfect Chemistry!” At one table, CGSA members demonstrated photosynthesis by showing attendees how plant leaves contain chlorophyll, which captures sunlight to help plants produce food. Kids had the opportunity to extract chlorophyll from fresh spinach and observe its red fluorescence. Another table featured a “dark-light tent,” where attendees could enter a completely blacked-out tent and take photos using long-light exposure photography.

The event also featured hourly “elephant toothpaste” demonstrations, where volunteers in lab coats, goggles, and gloves showcased the reaction between hydrogen peroxide and potassium iodide, resulting in a dramatic, foamy eruption as oxygen gas was trapped by dish soap. The audience cheered as five different flasks erupted, each dyed with vibrant food coloring with all shades of the rainbow!

The CGSA Outreach Committee raised over $6,000 in sponsorships, organized over 100 volunteers, planned engaging science activities, and gathered raffle prizes, including a year-long family membership to the North Carolina Zoo. Their efforts exemplify the NC State Department of Chemistry’s commitment to enhancing the visibility and accessibility of science and nurturing the next generation of scientists, and they look forward to building on this annual event in the years to come. 

The event was graciously sponsored by two “Rhodium” sponsors: the NC State Department of Chemistry, led by Department Head Gavin Williams, and the North Carolina Section of the American Chemical Society, chaired by Volker Bornemann. Volunteers hailed from 15 universities and companies in and around the Raleigh Triangle Park, including UNC Chapel Hill, Duke University, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies. A complete list of sponsors and volunteers can be found on the event website.