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College Holds 28th Annual High School Chemistry Night

Chemistry
Students Learn about Science through Dancing Flames, Elephant's Toothpaste and Burning Hands Students from four area high schools had a taste of college chemistry Wednesday (Oct. 21) as Wilmington College presented the 28th annual High School Chemistry Night. (PICTURED) Faith Talley and Zev Ransohoff of Fayetteville-Perry High School get a close-up look at the "Dancing Flames" demonstration in which gas is pumped through a metal tube with small holes and music is played from one end, which causes the flames to literally "dance" to the beat. The students viewed chemistry demonstrations — many featuring visual affects like fireballs, smoke, ghost-like vapors or erupting foam. They had names like “Elephant’s Toothpaste,” “Drippy Faucet,” “Dancing Flames” and “Burning Hands.” WC chemistry students from the WC Science Society conducted the hands-on demonstrations and later instructed the high school students in small group settings on how they did it — so the younger students could present the demonstrations. Students attended from Blanchester, Manchester, Lynchburg-Clay and Fayetteville-Perry high schools. Following a welcome and the demonstrations that included the chemistry behind the audio and visual effects, several faculty and alumni answered questions in the “Quiz the Chemist” portion of the program. They also heard a presentation from the Admission Office on “What to Look for in a College.” This year’s event had another special effect — Chemistry Night was held for the final time in the original Kettering Hall. The College’s Center for the Sciences and Agriculture, a $13 million renovation and expansion project, is under construction and on track for opening in 2016. Chemistry professors Alfred Conklin, Dore Meinholtz and Michael Goldcamp concluded the formal program with a presentation of awards to the high school students for the best demonstrations. Wilmington College’s Chemistry Department and the American Chemical Society are co-sponsors of High School Chemistry Night.