Chemical Education Today
The International Year of Chemistry 2011;This Is Your Year! Terri M. Taylor Office of K-12 Education, Education Division, American Chemical Society, Washington, DC 20036, United States
[email protected] In 2005, the world joined the physics community in recognizing the International Year of Physics; in 2009, astronomers shared their discipline globally through the International Year of Astronomy. The year 2011 marks the beginning of the International Year of Chemistry;365 consecutive days during which chemists and chemical enthusiasts worldwide will join to promote interest in and excitement about chemistry and its contributions to humankind. Will you join the celebration? The Global Celebration of the International Year of Chemistry 2011 The International Year of Chemistry 2011 (IYC 2011) is a United Nations-designated event, the result of a resolution submitted by Ethiopia that was passed on December 30, 2008. This historic, yearlong celebration is designed to bring positive attention to the achievements of chemistry and the many ways in which it has improved people's lives. A worldwide event, IYC 2011 is coordinated by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) (1) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (2). The theme for the global IYC 2011 celebration, as established by the IYC 2011 Managing Committee, is Chemistry;our life, our future. The following objectives have also been established to support unified efforts during 2011 (2): • Increase the public appreciation and understanding of chemistry in meeting world needs • Encourage the interest of young people in chemistry • Generate enthusiasm for the creative future of chemistry • Celebrate the role of women in chemistry or major historical events in chemistry, including the centenaries of Marie Curie's Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the founding of the International Association of Chemical Societies
The global IYC 2011 celebrations have been designed to meet the needs and interests of a very broad audience. As a result, activities for a wide range of interests and audiences have been planned. Information about the global celebration of IYC 2011 can be found at Chemistry2011.org (3), the Web site created and maintained by IUPAC with guidance and sponsorship of UNESCO. The logo for IYC 2011 in Figure 1 is being used to identify myriad local, international, and virtual events, activities, and partnerships. Among the global IYC 2011 activities are a series of experiments for students in grades K-12 focusing on an exploration of the properties of the water and aqueous solutions in their communities. These activities are designed to highlight the role that chemistry plays in issues of water quality and purification. Participating K-12 classrooms will be asked to report their results to 6
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Figure 1. The International Year of Chemistry 2011 logo identifies many exciting events and engaging activities throughout the year and around the world related to chemistry. Visit http://www.chemistry2011.org/ (accessed Oct 2010) to find out more.
a common database to facilitate sharing, comparing, and analyzing data worldwide. Further information on the global water experiment can be found at the IYC 2011 Web site (3). Celebrate IYC 2011 with the American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) will launch a year full of activities and resources designed to engage volunteers, students, and the general public. These materials will be linked to four quarterly themes: • • • •
Water in the environment (Quarter 1) Alternative energy (Quarter 2) Materials (Quarter 3) Health (Quarter 4)
A new issue of Celebrating Chemistry, a publication for students in grades 4-6, will be produced and disseminated for each quarter and will align with the quarter's theme. Each edition of Celebrating Chemistry will contain three to four articles, three hands-on activities, two puzzles or games, and one Meg A. Mole interview featuring chemists talking about their careers. National unifying events will coincide with Chemists Celebrate Earth Day 2011 (April 22, 2011) and National Chemistry Week 2011 (October 17-23, 2011). Illustrated poster contests for K-12 students will also be held in conjunction with these engagement events.
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Vol. 88 No. 1 January 2011 pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc r 2010 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc. 10.1021/ed101038q Published on Web 11/04/2010
Chemical Education Today
Toolkits with ideas and templates for planning additional activities to engage various communities are also available. Visit http://www.acs.org/iyc2011 (accessed Oct 2010) for more information on these exciting resources for planning your IYC 2011 celebration. A variety of mechanisms for communicating chemistry and IYC 2011 will be available. Visit 365: Chemistry for Life, an ACS Web site that will be launched online on January 1, 2011 (4). This Web-based initiative is designed to highlight a different topic (person, place, molecule, element, etc.) each day during IYC 2011. The ACS Network and publications such as Chemical and Engineering News, various ACS journals, ACS Matters, inChemistry, and ChemMatters magazine will also be used to share news about IYC 2011. A monthly newsletter, the IYC Bulletin, is currently available to provide the most current information about its IYC 2011 activities and resources. Send an e-mail message to
[email protected] to subscribe. IYC 2011 will be highlighted at the ACS national meetings in Anaheim and Denver, as well as through a number of the ACS regional meetings occurring throughout 2011. Additionally, ACS;in collaboration with the Chemical Heritage Foundation, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the American
r 2010 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
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Chemistry Council, and the National Academies of Science; will participate in a multiday IYC 2011 celebration during February 2011 in Philadelphia, PA. As the celebrations of IYC 2011 continue, stay tuned for even more IYC-related resources. Please visit http://www.acs. org/iyc2011 (accessed Oct 2010) or e-mail
[email protected] for more information. Literature Cited 1. IUPAC Home Page. http://www.iupac.org/ (accessed Oct 2010). 2. UNESCO. http://portal.unesco.org/science/en/ev.php-URL_ID= 8964&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html (accessed Oct 2010). 3. Home Page of Chemistry2011.org. http://www.chemistry2011.org/ (accessed Oct 2010). 4. ACS IYC 2011 Web page. http://www.acs.org/iyc2011 (accessed Oct 2010).
Terri Taylor is the assistant director of the Office of K-12 Education, Education Division, American Chemical Society, Washington, DC 20036;
[email protected].
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