Centenary students celebrate National Chemistry Week with campus and community activities
SHREVEPORT, LA —Members of the Centenary College Chemistry Club have planned a sweet series of events to celebrate National Chemistry Week October 21 through 26. Chemistry Club members will sponsor three on-campus activities during the early part of the week and will also volunteer at the National Chemistry Week observance sponsored by the Northwest Louisiana American Chemical Society (ACS) chapter at Pierre Bossier Mall on Saturday, October 26. All events are free and open to the public.
The theme of this year’s National Chemistry Week is “Marvelous Metals,” and local ACS chapters are encouraged to organize activities that help the general public understand the importance of chemistry in everyday life. The Centenary Chemistry Club’s on-campus schedule of events includes a “Guess the Moles of Candy” event on Monday, October 21, the annual Periodic Table of Cupcakes giveaway on Wednesday, October 23, and a day of “marvelous metals” live chemistry demonstrations on Thursday, October 24.
Centenary Chemistry Club students, along with students from LSU-Shreveport, will help staff the live demos and hands-on activities planned near Dillard’s at Pierre Bossier Mall on Saturday, October 26. The fun-for-all-ages event runs from noon to 4:00 p.m. Dr. Ray Mu, assistant professor of chemistry at Centenary, hopes that this event in particular will help younger children get interested in chemistry.
“The activities are designed to engage and educate children (grades 4-6) in the basic principles of chemistry,” explains Mu. “I’m hopeful this will nurture their interests in pursuing a chemistry/science degree, possibly at Centenary, in the near future.”
Centenary senior chemistry major Abigail Moody, a native of Lafayette, LA, is president of the Chemistry Club and is excited to be participating in National Chemistry Week events this year.
“Young children often receive very little exposure to the natural sciences aside from basic earth science,” says Moody. “Many young children maintain the same interests as they grow older, and those interests dictate their chosen career path later in life. By getting children interested in chemistry and other sciences at an early age, there is a much higher likelihood that they will pursue a career in science. Scientific discovery is incredibly important for the advancement of society. For this reason, I think it's also very important to encourage children's interest in chemistry.”