Do you run an after-school science club? Have you got an idea that will engage people with the chemical sciences? If so, we want to support you.

Objectives of the fund
We launched our Outreach Fund earlier this year to support advocates of chemistry to run events that provide people with an entry point into the chemical sciences. Through the projects that we fund, we want to raise awareness of the place of chemistry in people's everyday lives and develop the science communication skills of people who are already highly trained in chemistry, so that they can champion the chemical sciences , and do our outreach work for us!

Tiers of funding
We have split the fund into 3 tiers. Our small grants go up to £2,000 and enable us to fund a wide range of one off-events and novel ideas. We have already funded some brilliant projects, ranging from demonstration lectures all the way through to air shows
Our medium (£2,000 -£10,000) and large (£10,000 - £50,000) grants are for much larger programmes of activities than may span multiple years. These are yet to open, but we’re excited to see the applications that will come our way.

Application deadlines
We will be open for applications to all 3 tiers of funding on September 8 2014, with a closing date of October 31 2014. I’m happy to chat through any ideas that you may have before you submit an application, so if you want to bring a tried and tested activity to your school, or have always had a niggling idea that think you can make work, then feel free to get in touch at outreach@rsc.org.

The Global Experiment 2014: the art of crystallisation is proving a real success. But credit for this success must be shared with all the teachers, parents and the participants themselves – thank you, and please keep submitting your data.


How to take part in the global experiment
 
The experiment is simple to do as it uses non-specialised equipment and readily available materials. It is ideal for students aged 7-16 as they can investigate the properties of five samples by dissolving, saturating and growing crystals. The experiment has been running for 4 months around the world in schools, homes, science centres and science clubs.
The experiment is available here http://rsc.li/ge2014 and will remain open to new data. So whether you have taken part already or not, have a go and don’t forget to post to our website. So far we have recorded over 12,000 participants across 4 different continents from Miami to Taiwan.
 
One of the best parts of the experiment is the ability to share and discuss your results. Use #globalexperiment on Twitter to share your experiment highlights. This is a great way to share your experiences of the Global Experiment as Ruth Lowe, a teacher from Old Lady’s Catholic College in Lancaster, recently did, following her trip to Uganda:
   


The Global Experiments are designed to be accessible everywhere and this year we have provided video commentaries and translated instructions in five languages to help even more people take part.
 
So far, when you consider the likely errors due to the non-specialised equipment, the consistency and patterns in the data are looking very good. But don’t trust me – see for yourself! http://rsc.li/ge2014
 
We want to hear from you – do you like the global experiments and have ideas for the future?
 
The success of these collaborative experiments has been so good that we are very keen to do more. Next year’s theme is the International Year of Light and we will shortly be looking to develop a new global experiment. So if any of this has inspired you, whether is it light related or not, we know we do best when we partner with others. So whoever you are, if you have ideas get in touch with us at learn-chemistry@rsc.org.

This year, to make our Global Experiment truly global, we’ve produced translations of the instructions. They’re available on Learn Chemistry in Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), French, Portuguese (Brazil) and Russian, to help students around the world answer the question:

What are the best conditions for growing the biggest crystals?
Quais as melhores condições para produzir os maiores cristais?
Quelles sont les conditions idéales favorisant l’obtention des cristaux les plus gros?

什么条件下才能培植出最大的晶体？
Каковы наилучшие условия для выращивания самых больших кристаллов?

ما أفضل الظروف المواتية لتكوين بلورات أكبر؟