Welcome to the fourth instalment of the 9 week series highlighting the schools and public events that were organised by our Local Section committees during the International Year of Chemistry! This week we take a look at some of the work the South East Local Sections have been doing during 2011.
South East
The Downland Local Section committee helped to organise a special IYC 2011 event at Charterhouse school in June. The school was host to an extensive programme for local Primary and Secondary school children comprising numerous interactive exhibitions, lectures from Prof. Sir Harry Kroto, Dr Peter Wothers and Rev. Ron Lancaster and culminating in an exciting fireworks display.
In Kent the Local Section committee held a schools symposium
New Treatments for Cancer; Hope or Hoax? at the University of Greenwich. This was a huge success, with over 50 attendees and several press releases and the committee intend to hold a similar event on a different theme, this time in conjunction with ChemNet, later this year. They also co-organised a Christmas lecture together with Canterbury Christ Church University. The lecture was delivered by Dr Andreas Sella to an audience of over 250 and Dr Sella used a number of chemical reactions to illustrate how organisms have harnessed chemical processes in a remarkable way to control pattern formation and biological structure.
The Thames Valley Local Section committee were involved in
IYC Chemistry in the Gardens at the Oxford Botanic Gardens. This grand event was opened by the Lord Mayor of Oxford, Elise Benjamin; the
Chair of Chemistry at the University of Oxford, Professor Tim Softley; and the Director of the
University of Oxford Botanic Gardens, Timothy Walker. It included chemistry related exhibits, workshops and posters relating to plants, including how compounds from plants can be found in everyday life such as in medicines.