Committed to serving science

01 March 2008

Bill (87) and Jim (74) have been involved with the RSC for many years.
They run a demonstration lecture, which is attended by schools across the UK. Both Bill and Jim have received awards in recent years for their continued services to the RSC and also for their promotion of chemistry.

Bill Williams at a demonstration lecture

 

Q How did you both get involved with the demonstration lectures?
A Bill: I have been involved with the RSC since about 1970. In 1990 I responded to an RSC initiative asking members to devise demonstrations to stimulate the interest of 10 year olds. This was due to concerns about the low numbers of pupils going on to study science. I came up with the idea of "Science and Energy" and piloted the demonstration lecture in Aberystwyth.

Jim: In 1995 Bill brought the demonstrations to Swansea. They were unusual in that all the experiments were carried out by the children themselves. For the past 12 years Bill and myself have been involved in developing the lecture and we divide the lecturing duties between us.

Q What sort of activities do you run for the children?

A Jim: The lecture highlights different types of energy, and how they can be inter-converted - using concepts from chemistry, physics and biology. These are all demonstrated with hands-on examples.

The lectures are not confined to Wales; we have also visited universities and theatres in Scotland and England. The demonstrations have now been given to approximately 60,000 pupils, on some 625 occasions.

Bill: We usually carry out the demonstrations about 50 times a year. It's really a unique experience for the children to see and use equipment that they wouldn't usually get the chance to, and particularly to enter the universities and see what they are about.
 
Q What sort of response do you get from the children that attend the lectures?
A Jim: Both teachers and school children are very enthusiastic in their praise and schools come back year after year. 
The chance to perform the experiments themselves is a clear attraction and teachers appreciate that the topics fit into their curriculum.

Bill: We often receive delightful thank-you letters from the children and events are very well attended.
One boy, about 12 years old, was particularly enthusiastic during one of my lectures and at the end he came up to me, shook my hand, and said: "Sir, I've now seen this lecture three times, and each time I learn something more!"

Q What has motivated you to carry on with these experiments so far into your retirement?! 
A Bill: It's really the desire to teach. I began teaching as a flying instructor during the war. I then went on to teach as an academic at Aberystwyth, and you know the rest!