DCHAS-L Discussion List Archive
Date: Mon, 8 Oct 2007 08:17:35 -0400
Reply-To: List Moderator <ecgrants**At_Symbol_Here**UVM.EDU>
Sender: DCHAS-L Discussion List <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU>
From: List Moderator <ecgrants**At_Symbol_Here**UVM.EDU>
Subject: In Search of an Old-Fashioned Chemistry Experience
DCHAS members may be interested in this PBS story on the risks of
home chemistry...
FIWI, I can't say my childhood chemistry set experience was either
"fun" or "educational".
- Ralph
http://www.pbs.org/kcet/wiredscience/story/8-Dangerous+Science.html
In Search of an Old-Fashioned Chemistry Experience
FIFTY YEARS AGO, YOU'D BE HARD-PRESSED to find an American family
without a chemistry set lurking somewhere in the house. It was one of
those rare toys that was both fun and educational, helping kids
equate science with excitementóafter all, building an exploding
volcano in the living room never gets old.
But say "chemistry set" to a kid today and you're likely to get a
blank stare or a snicker in response. While the sets still
technically exist, they rarely contain any real "chemicals," thanks
to safety and liability fears; they also characterize scientists as
crazy and eccentric rather than respectable and intelligent. This may
be fueling kidsí declining interest in science, as evidenced by the
fact that the percentage of students pursuing college chemistry
degrees today is down by two-thirds since the 1960s. Could the
disappearance of the old chemistry sets be somewhat to blame? A lot
of scientists say yes.
Join host Adam Rogers as he mourns the disappearance of the
ubiquitous home chemistry set, explores the decline of America's
science climate, and contaminates himself with radioactive uranium.
Check out our sidebar story and discover what some long-distance
learning teachers are doing to combat the problem using little more
than a penny and a head of cabbage.
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