Chemical Education Today
Meeting Report
CHEMED ‘99 by Ron Perkins
The 14th CHEMED Conference opened Sunday evening, August 1, at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut just as a cold front arrived, as if on cue, breaking a four-week heat wave. The conference began with a procession of Scottish bagpipers, flags of the 14 countries represented at the conference, the new CHEMED Flag, and 109 periodic table banners of the elements carried by the Trumbull High School Marching Band, all followed by members of the National Mole Day Foundation in full mole costumes. Rhonda Reist of Olathe North High School served as a witty master of ceremonies. Babu George, the general chairman, welcomed the conferees. Awards were then presented to sponsors: gold awards to Educational Innovations for its sponsorship of the Saturday evening mixer and to Carolina Biological for the Tuesday evening safety lecture and reception; a platinum award to Flinn Scientific for its generous support over the years. Signature Demonstrations opened the program and were presented by some of our best: Geri
Geri Blomquist presents her signature demonstration of colorchanging liquids. Geri, now with Flinn Scientific, is a former high school teacher.
The CHEMED Banner with its new conference logo welcomes participants to conference headquarters in the Pitt Center.
Bob Becker of Kirkwood High School demonstrates the explosive power of hydrogen and oxygen as his signature demo.
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Blomquist, Al Delfiner, John Fortman, George Hague, Bob Lewis, John Moore, Walter Rohr, Jerry Sarquis, and Penney Sconzo. The evening closed with a reception honoring Lew Brubacher for his many years of service as editor of Chem 13 News. During the week, featured speakers included: Alan D. Adler, Shroud of Turin; Bassam Shakhashiri, Science is Fun; James Kauffman, An Enlightening Evening of Lab Safety; and Steven Spangler, Small Wonders…Big Discoveries. CHEMED ’99 closed with Henry Lee, a well-known forensic scientist, who spoke on Advances in Forensic Sciences: Chemistry Solves Crimes. Additional Signature Demonstrations were given by Bob Becker, Jerry Blackstone, Bette Bridges, Jean Delfiner, George Gross, Marvin Lang, Lee Marek, and Rhonda Reist. Throughout the five days, 252 sessions were scheduled. At some you could observe the newest in super–neat–wow chemical demonstrations; at others you could leave with new ideas for the laboratory; and at others you could learn better methods for teaching content. Some of the more intriguing titles include: Holy Mol-ee! Sing-along Science, Lynda Jones; Block Scheduling Saved My Life, John Bros II; Amazing Experiments with the Neodymium Mega-Magnet, Brian Rohrig; Captain Chemistry Flies Again: Ideas and Gimmicks that Have Worked for Me, George R. Hague; Chemistry for All Seasons, Janet Marie Gidley; Daffy Demos that Defy Decorum!, Rhonda Reist; Lava Lamps: A Chemical Juggling Act, Mark Siemaszko; Make Your Own Rainbow Lab Coat, John Mauch; and Teaching Chemistry with Magic, Jeff Hepburn. There seemed to be something for everyone! Several special events were scheduled. On Tuesday evening the reception included 10,000 pastries and chocolate-covered strawberries, all made under the direction of Chef Jerry Reveron of Sacred Heart University. At the Lobster/ Clam Bake on Wednesday evening, 2,000 New England lobsters, 1,500 steaks, and several bushels of clams were consumed. This was followed by an ice cream social and a laser show. The 1999 CHEMED Mole Walk was won by Jack
Penney Sconzo (West Minster High School) assists Captain Chemistry (George Hague, St. Mark’s School of Texas) with his signature demo.
Award-winning quilter Barbara McCarty (left) made a wall-sized periodic table quilt, signed by Glenn Seaborg. It was won by Sarah C. Smith (right). Proceeds helped defray the conference costs.
Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 76 No. 11 November 1999 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu
Chemical Education Today
Sullivan and Laura Witham; the 1999 CHEMED Mole Run was won by Mike Spitz and Hiroko Shimada. Hiroko was the overall winner. Throughout the day, one could visit the 49 exhibitors, observe a professional glassblower from Corning Glass, or cut and polish minerals. Trips were arranged to attractions in the neighboring area: the Bronx Zoo, Mystic Seaport and Aquarium, Museum of Natural History, Ellis Island, and to the Broadway show, Ragtime. There were programs for new teachers, experienced teachers, spouses, and children. Those attending CHEMED ’99 will remember the numerous displays of ice carving. At the pre-convention mixer on Saturday evening (sponsored by Educational Innovations) Chef Jerry Reveron demonstrated the craft by turning a 300pound block of ice into a beautiful fish. His tools included a chain saw and assorted chisels and scrapers. Using his keen wit, he entertained the crowd while carefully explaining the process. We learned that the ice for carving contains ammonium and sodium salts to improve its clarity and slow the melting process. Two beautiful ice carvings were featured at the reception on Tuesday evening (sponsored by Carolina Biological), followed by the world’s largest periodic table ice carving (>3,000 pounds)—complete with symbols, atomic numbers, and weights—at the Wednesday evening reception (funded by Pfizer, Inc.) Plan now for CHEMED ’01, to be held at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada from July 29 to August 2, 2001. David Farrar and Irwin Talesnick are the conference co-chairs, with Bette Bridges as program chair. Contact: David Farrar, Department of Chemistry, CHEMED 2001, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 3H6; email:
[email protected] or Irwin Talesnick, phone: 905/709-2033; email:
[email protected] .
Jerr y Sarquis (Miami University) and Penney Sconzo (West Minster High School) happened to choose the same signature demonstration, so they joined forces for the presentation.
Two Canadian chemical educators, Leonard Sibly and Reg Friesen, were remembered throughout the conference. Sib, while teaching chemistry at high schools in Ottawa and St. Catharines, Ontario, first expressed the idea of creating a conference that focused speRhonda Reist (Olathe North cifically on the needs of high High School) was “Master” of school chemistry teachers. Ceremonies at the conference With the help of others he or- opening. ganized CHEMED ’73 at the University of Waterloo, the first of the series. Sib died in 1976. For almost thirty years, Reg Friesen helped organize CHEMED conferences and was also the founding editor of Chem 13 News, a widely read pre-college chemical education newsletter. Reg died in 1998. CHEMED ’99 owes much to the efforts of Sib and Reg. This year’s 1208 registered CHEMED participants owe much to the many people who worked so hard to make CHEMED ’99 a success, especially its chair, Babu George, and program co-chair, Penny Snetsinger. Much of the success of this conference was due to the very generous support of industry, especially Pfizer Inc., Bayer Corporation–Pharmaceutical Division, and Pitney Bowes. Two years ago, Babu George set as his goal to organize and host one of the best CHEMED conferences. By all accounts he succeeded! Ron Perkins was the program co-chair for CHEMED ’99. Before his recent retirement, he taught at Greenwich High School in Greenwich, CT. His present address is 26 Dickinson Road, Darien, CT 06820;
[email protected].
An ice carving of the periodic table (weighing 3,000 pounds it was the largest in the world) took shape and form at an evening reception.
George Gross (formerly of Union High School) demonstrates inflating a balloon in a flask.
JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu • Vol. 76 No. 11 November 1999 • Journal of Chemical Education
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