Bubbles, ice-cream and lots of fun with the East Anglia Local Section

The East Anglia section really had a ball during Chemistry Week.  It kicked off with a bubble show for years 2 and 3 primary school children from the Norwich area.  The event was held at UEA and organised by Ruth Lalor who is a postgraduate student and also a local section committee member.  More than 300 pupils had great fun watching Pockets Pete doing his magic and making bubbles of all shapes and sizes.  His finale was encapsulating somebody from audience in a huge bubble.  The event really helped to show that chemistry can be entertaining as well as valuable.  Hopefully this will inspire a new generation of scientists.  

A series of four lectures were presented by Professor John Holloway from Leicester University.  The topic was fluorine and it was aimed at 11 to 13 students to expand their understanding about an element that is very important in our daily lives.  The lectures were given at Gresham's School in north Norfolk and Thurston Community College near Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk.  More than 200 students attended the two venues. 

Ice cream was on the menu at Thurston Community College.  A demonstration was carried out making ice cream with liquid nitrogen.  The students were fascinated by the mystical formulations that included chocolate and strawberry flavours.  The event was organised by Mrs Susan Kelly who is head of chemistry.  Aubrey Burrows from the RSC East Anglia section was in attendance to handle the liquid nitrogen and do the stirring.  The final overture was freezing a banana and smashing it into tiny pieces!  

Chemistry Week finished up with The Science Investigation day.  It was held at Bayer Crop Science's facility in Norwich.  Fifteen teams participated from 12 different secondary schools across Norfolk and Suffolk.  The winner was Norwich School; the runners up were Reepham High School and Cromer High School.  Norwich School will be the region's representative at the national competition held later in the year in London.  We are indebted to Bayer for their help, support, and generosity.