National
Chemistry Week |
National
Chemistry Week began as National Chemistry
Day, and was a vision of then ACS President,
George C. Pimentel. In 1986, Pimentel stated
that…
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The
2012 theme for NCW is nanotechnology. |
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National
Chemistry Day is a bold and exciting undertaking
for us. Its success will be measured, in
the short term, by the number of people reached
by our efforts. Over the long term, we will
measure our success by the continued use
of chemistry to solve societal problems and
to improve the quality of life for us all.
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This
visionary statement led the ACS Board of
Directors to establish National Chemistry
Day (NCD), which was celebrated November
6, 1987.
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| A parade
spanning two blocks in Washington, DC, helped
kicked off the celebration with 173 out of
182 ACS local sections participating in the
festivities within their communities. NCD
was so well-received by the general public
that in 1988 it received the highest honor
accorded for excellence in public relations
and was awarded the Public Relations Society
of America Silver Anvil. |
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original intent was to celebrate NCD on a
biannual basis. Because of the overwhelming
enthusiasm and support shown in its debut
year, NCD was expanded to a weeklong celebration
and renamed, “National Chemistry Week” (NCW)
in 1989. In 1993, NCW officially became an annual event, although many ACS
local sections had already been celebrating
it annually. |
| Click
here for information about the Illustrated
Poem Contest [PDF] |
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The Northeastern
Section Celebrates National Chemistry Week’s
Silver Anniversary
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| NCW was Nanotechnology
– The Smallest Big Idea in Science. In preparation
for National Chemistry Week 2012, a volunteer preparation
day was held at Museum of Science-Boston (MoS-Boston)
on Sunday, September 30, 2012. More than 30 volunteers
attended this event and had the opportunity to
practice the hands-on activities and demonstrations
related to nanotechnology in advance of the October
celebration. Activities included making gummy capsules,
learning about the color of butterfly wings, testing
fabrics and sand for hydrophobicity, and exploring
the science of sunscreens. |
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National
Chemistry Week participants at the Museum of
Science - Boston engulfed by a giant
model of a carbon nanotube. |
| On Saturday, October
27, 2012, the Northeastern Section of the American
Chemical Society (NESACS) sponsored a National
Chemistry Week at the Boston Children’s Museum
(BCM). Approximately 600 of the 1000+ visitors
to the BCM participated in the hands-on activities.
On Sunday, October 28, 2012, a second NCW event
was held at the MoS-Boston. Even though Hurricane
Sandy was approaching, more than 400 individuals
participated in the hands-on activities and demonstrations
held in the well of the museum that afternoon.
A particular favorite for visitors was building
a life-sized carbon nanotube from balloons. A photograph
of this giant tube was featured in the December
17, 2012 issue of Chemical & Engineering News.
Among the highlights of the day were the two Phyllis
A. Brauner Memorial Lectures, presented by David
Sittenfeld, a 2011Salute to Excellence Award recipient.
David filled in for Dr. Bassam Shakhashiri, ACS
President and Professor of Chemistry at the University
of Wisconsin-Madison. These captivating lectures
were enjoyed by approximately 200 individuals. |
| The High School Science
Series, originally scheduled for Tuesday, October
30, 2012 was postponed and rescheduled as numerous
schools remained closed in the aftermath of the
hurricane. Approximately 200 students attended
the rescheduled High School Science Series event
at the MoS-Boston on November 20, 2012. These students
participated in a number of hands-on activities
and demonstrations related to the yearly theme
and heard lecture demonstrations given by David
Sittenfeld and Karine Thate. Students from Fenway
High School served as facilitators for a number
of the hands-on activities. |
| Special thanks to the
Boston Children’s Museum, Alissa Daniels, Emily
Flaherty, Lucy Green, Sharon Horrigan, Museum of
Science-Boston, Northeastern Section of the American
Chemical Society, David Sittenfeld, Dr. Bassam
Shakhashiri, Karine Thate, and the Phyllis A. Brauner
Memorial Lecture Committee. |
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David
Sittenfeld of the Museum of Science Boston doing
his best impersonation of Bassam
Shakhashiri presenting his annual chemical magic
show. Photo by Doris Lewis |
| The events would not
have been possible without the help of the volunteers
listed below: Individuals participated from the
following organizations: Alfa Aesar, Beyond Benign,
Boston University, Emmanuel College, Global Prior
Art, Gordon College, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Merck-Boston, Nantero, Inc., NESACS,
Northeastern University, Salem State, Soane Labs,
Stonehill College, Suffolk University, Tufts University,
University of Massachusetts-Boston and Weymouth
High School. |
| Thank you NCW volunteers!* |
| Aracelli Acevedo, Daniel
Adam, Roden Agalliu, Rekha Agarwalla, Rachael Albury,
Lee Andrews, Faraz Arastu, Lucas Armstrong, Hung
Banh, Katelyn Barry, Scott Berk, Omar Biyari, Pieter
Bos, Jonathan Boyce, Joel Boyd, Susan Brauner,
Chris Burkard, Hillary Butts, Michaeline Chen,
Kim Clapp, Abbey Clarkin, Gabby Cole, Katie Dapsis,
Mary Catherine Dunne, Kelsey Enright, Mollie Enright,
Manuel Esquivel, Sarah Faulkner, Davinia Fernandez,
Jonathan Flores, Aisling Fox, Briana Fuertes, Lauren
Gagnon, Krystal Gmyrek, Alicia Goodridge, Raven
Gomberg, Rebecca Harris, Marie Herring, Charlie
Hoyt, Sarah Iacobucci, Jamie Joyce, Gina Kim, Neil
Lajkiewicz, Aren Lemeris, May Le, Doris Lewis,
Yan Lin, Jackie Love, Katie Lovett, Michael Lynch,
Jennifer Maclachlan, Gianna Mancuso, Justin Mark,
Teresa Marx, Anastasia Maydanov, Sarah McCarron,
Joseph McGuire, Kathleen Miller, Todd Miller, Blerta
Milo, Alyssa Moccia, Cortland Naegelin, Daniel
Neuman, Long Nguyen, Primrose Nimnarle, Moses Njogu,
Jason Nogueira, Jackie O’Neil, Carina Paz, John
Podobinski, Melissa Podolsky, Melissa Porto, Hayley
Power, Dominik Rabej, Jayashree Ranga, Elena Roffel,
Rozana Saklou, Jen Scherer, Andrea Schneider, Laura
Schneider, Bryan Sears, Phieng Siliphaivanh, Sarah
Spiegel, Ben Stewart, Stacey Strobel, Sydney Strong,
Sophia Su, Kyle Swerdlow, Kelly Tan, Parch Tivitmahaisoon,
Jacqueline Toomey, Justin Troisi, Lauren Tulley,
Maura Tuohy, Samantha Watson, Owen Williams, Pearl
Yip, Larissa Zablowski, Greg Zhang |
*I apologize if your name is not on this list.
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| The 2013 theme for NCW is Energy: Now and Forever. |
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