From Aidan Looby, Event Organizer, on behalf of the Greater Houston Section - American Chemical Society in Partnership with Chemical Marketing & Economics:
National Chemistry Week is a public awareness campaign that promotes the value of chemistry in everyday life. This year's theme was "Picture Perfect Chemistry" and picked to demonstrate how chemistry plays a crucial role in how photographs and images are created. In collaboration with the Children's Museum Houston, over 40 volunteers, and a generous donation of $1000 from the Chemical Marketing and Economics (CME) organization, the GHS-ACS put on 4 activities to showcase how chemistry allows for modern technology like medical imaging and digital photography on your phone.
The 4 activities included anthotype printing, imaging without light, Play Doh, and a History of Photography. Anthotype printing, often referred to as sun prints, shows how curcumin, a chemical found in tumeric, is a remarkable photosensitizer. When it is in the form of a dye on materials and exposed to sunlight for prolonged periods, the dye bonds more strongly to the material and you are able to produce images. This anthotype print was commonly practiced in the 19th century.
Imaging without light investigates how we can model images without observing light. All matter is made of very small units called atoms, which are comprised of the nucleus and electrons. The nucleus of certain atoms affected by magnetic fields and radio waves, which is the underlying principle for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a type of medical imaging. In this activity, kids were encouraged to develop images using only magnets.
At the Play Doh table, younger children were encouraged to recreate their favorite photograph or whatever their imaginations could come up with, while older children were challenged to demonstrate the chemistry of photography using the Play Doh.
At the History of Photography Table, Bob Botto showed antique, authentic photographs from the 1840s - early 1900s. The photographs ranged from Daguerreotypes (1830s) to Cabinet Cards (1920s). Promoting the chemistry involved in each type of photograph but also its economical and historical impact on photography.
Our volunteers came from local Houston universities such as the University of Houston, University of Houston Downtown, and Rice University. The volunteers were engaged and excited to teach some chemistry to the kid and their families. The event started at 9 am and ended at 2 pm with a conservative estimate of 500 people that visited throughout the day.
Overall, the event was an overwhelming success and we look forward to next year's National Chemistry Week!
