Lincoln Elementary School STEAM Night – 16 November 2023

From Charlie Gluchowski:

Last night’s STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) outreach event at Lincoln Elementary School in Richmond was a great success. Bryan [Balazs] led the charge and warmed up the crowd of students and parents with several explosive, colorful and educational demonstrations. Then, participants spread out and learned about various hands-on activities presented by volunteers from Chevron and Las Positas College, among others. At our table, Michael Cheng organized the Chemistry Rainbow activity, based on Anthocyanins (from red cabbage but also present in various fruits and vegetables) as colorful pH indicators.  Mariana Alves from Novartis and seven of my Las Positas College Chem 30B students (Jennie Hamilton, Leila Hemdan, Chao Yu Hsu, Catherine Ip, Natalie Liebelt, Bola Raji and Lia Simon) did fabulous work interacting with both the students and parents while demonstrating the color changes with acids and bases – including the carbon dioxide in our breath! Of course, safety came first with the Cal ACS team, so participants put on their safety glasses before handling the reagents. The evening was capped off with Michael making a delicious batch of liquid nitrogen ice cream which we handed out to everyone who wanted it!

Charlie’s photos show an excellent turnout and plenty of hands-on chemistry, with safety glasses!  Of course, Bryan’s show is always a crowd-pleaser, while Michael orchestrated the event.  Charlie’s students brought extra energy to the activities, and Chevron’s Slime team was ready for action.  Cal ACS thanks Lincoln Elementary Vice-Principal Vranda Booker and her staff for their hospitality, and the Lincoln community for coming out despite the iffy weather.

Alex Madonik, NCW Coordinator