The Chemistry Club at UC Davis continues to regularly participate in chemical demonstrations as a part of educational outreach, such as at the annual Picnic Day event where over 2,000 people watch several shows and interact with hands-on demos. The club has also focused on outreach other than chemical demonstrations. We try to aid in the formation of new chemistry clubs at community colleges in the area. We have answered many questions and even met with the newly founded Modesto Community College Chemistry Club to help go through the process of starting a new club. Currently, we’re also holding a canned food drive to donate to families before Thanksgiving, and we’ve had members volunteer to maintain the gardens of Davis.
Along with these activities, we’ve also planned a lot of chemistry related social events and projects. We’re planning to make boba and rock candy, and also extract essential oils from lavender at UC Davis to use as an ingredient in our soap making project. We also have planned lab tours of research labs on campus, such as the Olive Center which focuses on applying chemistry to olive and other plant oils. The club has grown in membership and we hope to continue planning more chemistry projects, lab tours, social events, and outreach events.
By Ben Wigman