A previous blog post shared information about the Chemical Heritage Foundation’s “It’s Elemental” video competition for high school students to celebrate the International Year of Chemistry. A recent report says that approximately 700 individuals and groups responded to their call for videos. Winners were notified this month. The grand-prize individual winner was Daniyal N. Khan […]

My favorite part of any Chemical & Engineering News is the one-page column “Newscripts” that waits at the end of the issue, like a dessert after supper. It collects two or three short pieces related to science and tends to have an irreverent flavor. Take the January 10, 2011, column for example, with the subtitle […]

Happy International Year of Chemistry! 1-1-11 marks the start of a year-long focus on the “achievements of chemistry and its contributions to the well-being of humankind”, with the theme “Chemistry—our life, our future”.
The American Chemical Society has launched an online tool to help us learn more about these achievements and contributions. “365: Chemistry for Life” […]

Sounds like Washington, D.C., was the place to be just a couple weeks ago. The USA Science & Engineering Festival was held on the National Mall, among other locations over the weekend of October 23 and 24, 2010. From their Website, the mission of the festival is “to re-invigorate the interest of our nation’s youth […]

The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) offers Web-based seminars throughout the year that highlight different areas of science. NSTA describes the seminars as “free, 90-minute, live professional development experiences that use online learning technologies to allow participants to interact with nationally acclaimed experts, NSTA Press authors, and scientists, engineers, and educaiton specialists from NSTA partner […]

At the recent American Chemical Society (ACS) national meeting in Boston, I spent an evening on the exhibit show floor. Walking the floor at an ACS meeting always leaves me a little bit wanting, as my current stage in life and employment does not require the purchase of cutting-edge instrumentation, specialty glassware, or textbooks. However, […]

John Moore’s June 14, 2010, post to this blog described recent changes to the Journal of Chemical Education. The decision was made to discontinue posting items to this blog that were published in JCE, such as the monthly Especially for High School Teachers column, which had previously formed a large part of the content on […]

from Erica K. Jacobsen, JCE High School Editor
We had the opportunity to see an acquaintance’s baby a few weeks after he was born. A couple months later, we ran into the family again, and it was a shock to see how large he had grown in that time. It reminded me of the years when […]

from Erica K. Jacobsen, JCE High School Editor
“The only constant is change” sprang to mind while reading
the draft version of the January 2010 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education (JCE). Wi-fi connection at the ready, I turned to the Internet for information about its originator. (It was apparently a popular activity this month; see […]

from Laura Slocum, JCE High School Associate Editor
Recently, I have spent many hours working with seven students as they develop their own demonstrations and hands-on activities focusing on elements—the theme of this year’s National Chemistry Week (NCW)—“Chemistry—It’s Elemental!” What a special privilege this has been for me. My love of chemistry and my desire to […]