Texas Lutheran hosts chemistry fair – Seguin Gazette-Enterprise

A group of area students took a peek into the world of science Thursday night during Texas Lutheran Universitys CHAOS Chemistry Fair.

Amanda Galvan was among the area residents to visit the fair with their children.

My kids are both interested in science, and Im a student here at TLU, as well, she said. I felt like it was a good opportunity for them to actually do some small experiments and see the college students do experiments.

This was the third year the fair was held, with this years theme being Chemistry of the Earth.

This is our chemistry outreach night, where we have a lot of hands-on activities for students, TLU chemistry professor Alison Bray said. A lot of the experiments are based on different properties of the earth: the water thats on Earth, volcanoes, were doing some iron oxide rust experiments, a lot of things that are hands-on, and you can make snowflakes in the back.

The event is run by TLUs Pi Rho Chemistry Club and the volunteer staff was made up of TLU chemistry students.

Were an organization that does a lot of outreach at local schools and we do this once every year, club member and TLU student Lynsey Terrill said.

Children were able to make their own rust and use it to make artwork at the station she worked, Terrill said.

We use steel wool, salt and hydrogen peroxide and mix it up, she said. It oxidizes the steel wool and the iron in it to make rust. They go down to the filtering station and filter it with a coffee filter so just the rust is left on top. Then they come down here and make cave paintings using the rust they filtered out.

Additionally, the fair included chemiluminescence and a molting volcano made of thermite, TLU chemistry professor Mike Ruane said.

Were just doing outreach to the community, letting them know there is a university in town that does chemistry, he said. Were to get people to come here for college.

The fair also is a way for TLU to help get children interested in science, Bray said.

We think when kids interact with scientists, its a lot more exciting, she said. In school, they dont get to do a lot of these hands-on things, because they dont necessarily have the equipment or the training. Here we can let them do these things in a safe environment.

Ruane said the event is a way to get young students more acquainted to the nature of being a scientist.

Normally they think of scientists as these guys in a lab with a lab coat. They dont really get to see the fun thats in science, he said. So we try to bring the fun to the community and show them everything we can do.

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Texas Lutheran hosts chemistry fair - Seguin Gazette-Enterprise