Chemistry students invite the community to ‘Halloween Spooktacular’

October 20, 2016 (Notre Dame, Ind.) — It’s no trick. Science is a treat! Chemistry students at Saint Mary’s are prepared to prove this hypothesis at a Halloween Spooktacular Magic Show. Grade and middle school-aged children and their parents/guardians are encouraged to attend.
 

Megan Doherty CHEM

The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place from 6 – 8 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26 in Regina North Lounge. Click for a campus map. For safety reasons, the group can admit only 100 children. All visitors must also sign one waiver per child entering.

Every 20 minutes, a student scientist will perform one of our larger demonstrations in the middle of the room. The schedule for the demonstrations is as follows:

  • 6:20: Oscillating clock reaction
  • 6:40: Luminol fluorescence demonstration
  • 7:00: Color-changing cylinders
  • 7:20: Liquid Nitrogen fun!
  • 7:40: Elephant toothpaste (crowd pleaser, a consistent favorite)

President of the Saint Mary’s Affiliates of the American Chemical Society (SMAACS) Megan Doherty ’17 said the event will run as an open house.

In addition to the student-run demonstrations, there will be 5 hands-on stations, including ghost bubbles, invisible ink, Ghoulish goo, milk fireworks, and potions reactions. Visitors may go through these stations in any order at their leisure. Saint Mary’s students will be at all tables assisting and explaining the chemistry.

“It is exciting for us to be able to engage with local kids and to see their excitement when a color changes or bubbles are produced. It’s our goal to show kids that science isn’t spooky,” Doherty said. “We hope that fun events like this will stick with them and get them thinking about studying science in the future. “

About Saint Mary's College: Celebrating over 175 years of empowering women to make a difference in the world, Saint Mary’s College is recognized as a pioneer and continued force in the education of women. A Catholic, liberal arts institution in Notre Dame, Indiana, the College offers more than 50 undergraduate academic programs and also offers co-educational master’s degrees.

Contact for News Media: Haleigh Ehmsen, Media Relations Associate, Saint Mary’s College, hehmsen@saintmarys.edu (574) 284-5343

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