Cabbages, silly putty and slime: VICS Outreach
Natalie Pestana
Mick Moylan (VICS) and students of Malvern Central School mix PVA and borax solutions to make slime.
(Photographer: Natalie Pestana)
Oozing blue slime, red cabbage water and food colouring in milk, are not usually considered typical substances for scientific experimentation, but for thousands of students across Victoria, that's exactly what they represent.
As part of the Victorian Institute of Chemical Sciences outreach program, Mick Moylan conducts workshops which foster an appreciation for chemistry to 250-300 Victorian primary and secondary schools a year. Primary school programs are presented in partnership with the CSIRO.
"Chemicals are everywhere and chemical reactions happening inside people keep us alive. I hope that primary school students will recognise that there are many safe chemicals and some that are dangerous to help overcome the idea that all chemicals are bad", he says.
"Grade 5s and 6s are using chemicals in common household items like milk, detergent, fabric, sunscreen, food colouring and nappies, as well as some cool things that they might not have seen before, such as heat sensitive paper, slime and lots of colour-changing chemical reactions.
Secondary and tertiary students look at acids, bases and the pH scale, measure the fat or sugar content of milk, examine the molecular structures of different fabrics, or begin to examine the ways that some of the chemical reactions in this activity work - why detergents make things clean or how sunscreen blocks out UV light."
Students of Malvern Central School take part in the VICS Chemistry Outreach program.
(Photographer: Natalie Pestana)
He says that the hands on activities are the popular part of the program.
"Most classes love doing hands-on chemistry experience, it's much more interesting to do chemistry than to hear about it."
Mick, who holds a MSc (Chemistry) from the University, says that his favourite activities are the ones involving the periodic table. "Many of the elements can be expensive, dangerous or hard to get, so most schools don't have a good collection of them. Over the last year, I've collected samples of 32 chemical elements so that year 10 and 11 students can see and hold them and work out what makes them different. We finish up with one of my favourite demonstrations - reacting sodium and chlorine. They bang and flash when I mix them together, and leave behind a nice little pile of white salt."
The outreach program is supported by the University of Melbourne, ARC Centre of Excellence for Free Radical Chemistry and Biotechnology, RMIT and Monash University. The VICS Outreach Program conducts workshops at Victorian schools, and on campus, including during events such as In2science, Siemens Summer School and National Youth Science Forum. For further information on Victorian Institute of Chemical Sciences Outreach Program, contact Mick Moylan.
