Chemistry for Art and Communication Students Zafra Margolin Lerman Columbia College. 600 S. Michigan Ave.. Chicago, IL 60605 Who savs art and dance maiors do not need and cannot comprehehd or enjoy chemisGy? At Columbia College in Chicago, Illinois, a r t and communication students are finding that chemistry can he made more meaningful if they are encouraged to explore chemical concepts using a variety of art forms. Many creative students are simply "turnedoff' by chemistry. The course, "Chemistry in Daily Life,"developed at Columbia Colleee. voune- . has succeeded in heloine . artistic . people develop an interest in, and a more complete understanding of, chemistry. Who Takes the Course Students enrolled in this course have little or no background in science or mathematics. Most major in art, interior design, photography, radio, television, film, journalism, advertising, dance, music, theater, and creative writing. Many come with well-developed hostility or fear of any science course. Seventy percent come from Chicago inner-city high schools. where thev did not master fractions or decimals. Forty-seven percent are women, and forty-six percent are minorities. Other students are drawn from the Art Institute of Chicago and the general public, adults or young people who take the course for ~ e r s o n a linterest. Some learned about our program from articles which appeared in the Chicago Tribune1or the Euanston R e u i e ~ . ~ Course Conlent The course emphasizes the relationship between chemistry and the students' daily lives and between chemistry and their own major (see Table). The first assignment is to make a list of all the chemicals they find in their own kitchen cabinets. in bathroom cabinets. and amone the materials they use in their field of study (e.g., art, photography, and film). They are always surprised to come back after a week with five pages filled with names of mysterious chemicals. They realize that thev are practicing- chemistry without knowing it or much about it. The students are assured from the heginning that the mathematics needed for the course will be explained to them. Many did not have math in high school, and we have a math assistance oroeram that helos students a t times conve. nient to them. Because words like DH and acid are familiar to them (DH from using shampoo and acid from acid rain or stomach acid), this is a good subiect to start with. Therefore. acids. bases, and salt; arc described very parly in the course. For students that are artistically oriented, the colvrs of the indicator solutions are always "cry attractive. They are easily able to understand the concept of pH after first learning the negative powers of 10. Once the students understand that 10-3 is bigger than 10-9, it is easy to explain how acidity is measured in pH units. They enjoy the fact that they understand what pH means, and can use the pH meters for their experiments. A ~ o o u l a rex~erimeutwith DH is measurine the acidity of thiir-own shampoos. (They are told a week in advance to bring in their own sham~oos.)Other experiments measure the p ~ o soil. f The structure of the atom is explained with models of the orbitals. The students love to chant in a choir, "lsZ2s22p6 .. . ," when they are asked to describe the structure of a certain element. Experiments describing solubility and saturation are per142
Journal of Chemical Education
Course Outllne I.
htroduction. Overview of the course. Discussion of the f a n that students practice chemistry every day without realizing it.
11.
Acids, bases, and salts. pH-meters and indicators, and measuring acidities of vinegar, shampoo. soil and Alka Selzer.
111.
Atoms and molecules. Atomic structure, atomic orbitals, m&ls
and the chemical band.
IV.
Radioactivity.
V.
The periodic table. Names, formulas, equations, boiling points, and melting points.
VI.
Polymers. Plastics, textiles, rubber, proteins, organic acids. alcohols, and esters.
VII.
Crystallography. Different structures, crystals, crystal g m m .
Vlll
Energy. Different energy resources.
ix.
FODd and farm chemistry.
X.
Hou~eholdchemistry. Cosmetics, drugs, narcotics, body chemistry.
Additives, edible chemicals, fertilizers. pesticides
formed. Suear is used to exolain saturation and crvstallization. "~ock-candy2'is prodiced in this popular lab-exercise. The art students developed another interestine experiment: using a projecting micro8cope, adrop of CoC12 s>lu&n is put on a slide and projected onto a screen as a big red circle; within a few minutes blue feathers appear on the screen as though a painter was drawing a beautiful abstract picture. Different crvstals with different artistic effects are erown in the course the semester. The session on polymers also appeals to the artists. Students especially enjoy creating sculptures with polyurethane and nylon, which they make in the laboratory while they learn the properties of these materials.
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Students' Projects As part of the course requirements, students must complete projects on scientific iopics, and present them to the class using the tools of their maiors (see Figs. 1A and 1B for examplesfrom graphic art students). ~ t u d k n t smajoring in broadcast communications produced videotapes on air pollution, the ozone layer, energy resources, acid rain, and many other scientific topics. A tape on solar energy was so well done that it was shown five times bv Continental Cable Television in the western suburbs of chicago. Other tapes were made available to other institutions, including- high schools and junior high schools. The film students produced short films dealing with a variety of scientific subjects, including explosive chemicals and air pollution. Art students use their talents t o produce excellent illustrations of chemical phenomena. Their lectures are always accompanied by artwork in the form of posters, cartoons, and drawings. Art students also have
' Mincer, J. Chicago Tribune. Nov. 18, 1983. p 13 Saiter, S.
Evansion Review. May 14. 1981, p 9.
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