Program Overview
Introduction to the ChemDemo Program
The ChemDemo Program was initiated by Prof. George Stanley in the Fall of 1997. Since 1997, the program has sent out more than 13,000 LSU students who visited about 6,500 classrooms, impacting over 162,000 K-12 students.
Program Overview
The program provides several sets of tested, safe demonstrations for LSU students to choose from, usually involving hands-on participation of some or all of the students in the classroom. Detailed instructions are provided for each set of experiments, including a list of chemicals and items needed, how to perform and explain the science behind the demonstration, presentation tips, and connections of the chemistry/science involved in everyday life.
Featured Demonstrations
- Erupting Pumpkin
- Lava Lamp
- Sticky Spider Webs
- Chemistry of Fireworks
Instructions for Student Volunteers
LSU students interested in participating in ChemDemo must commit to the following:
- Select the ChemDemo lesson to present
- Select a K-12 partner and coordinate with them to find the best day/time for the science demonstration
- Schedule the date and time of the K-12 class presentation, complete the ChemDemo Kit Request Form
- If the demonstration requires dry ice or liquid nitrogen, complete the Dry Ice/Liquid Nitrogen Request and Safety Form
- Fill out the Student Travel Form
- Review and practice the presentation
- Pick up demo kits at the requested time from 610 Choppin Hall
- Deliver the demonstration presentation to the K-12 class
- Return the demo kit as instructed
Classroom Demonstrations
The Atmosphere: Liquid Nitrogen, Liquid Oxygen, Solid CO2, & Water Vapor
Grades K-4 This experiment involves using liquid nitrogen to let students "see" the major components in the air around us.
Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream
Grades K-4 A "fun" activity that can be combined with "The Atmosphere" demo to provide a treat for the class.
Polymer Fun: Disappearing Styrofoam and Starch
Grades K-4 When Styrofoam is added to acetone, it rapidly dissolves, making it look like it is disappearing. Starch-based packing "peanuts" will not dissolve in acetone but do readily dissolve in water.
Silly Putty: Synthesizing a Polymer
Grades K & Up Adding Elmers School glue to a water/borax solution causes a chemical reaction to produce a highly flexible, cross-linked polymer.
Acids & Bases
Grades 3-6 NaHCO3 and vinegar are used to shoot a cork out of a bottle, demonstrating that some acid-base reactions generate gases like CO2.
Energy: Electricity, Heat, and Light
Grades 4-12 The properties of electricity are discussed and demonstrated with a Tesla coil and a simple generator, allowing students to turn work into electricity/light.
Light Producing Chemical Reactions
Grades 4-12 Experiments with "quantum fireballs" (burning metal colors), chemiluminescence, and burning magnesium in dry ice.
Stoichiometry is Fun: Bubble Combustion Experiments
Grades 6-12 Stoichiometry concepts are explored by students making soap bubbles using various ratios of O2 and combustible gases and then igniting them.
Funding
External support for the program has been increasing with donations from the Albemarle Foundation, the Baton Rouge local section of the American Chemical Society, and ExxonMobil. BASF and the LSU Cain Center for STEM Literacy are also supporting ChemDemo via financial support or donations of specialty materials.