Simple, often artificial problems are normally preferred for introductory lab courses and are restricted to indoor participation. Microtitrations make it possible to leave the lab and study water chemistry directly in the natural environment. An exemplary outdoor challenge is presented here: travertine formation is context-rich, has to be examined…

In the years 2015-2018, the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research and the Italian Ministry of Defense proposed the joint initiative "Space for Your Future. The ISS: Innovatio, Scientia, Sapientia" in partnership with the Italian Space Agency. It was a competition addressed to secondary school students and aimed at…

1000 Future Scientists (1000FSc) is a university extension project developed at the Department of Chemistry in Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). Conducted by the Higher Education Administrative Technicians and Professors, it presents the university to the community by proposing an engaging experience for elementary and high school…

A laboratory experiment was developed to enable students to investigate the use of smart hydrogels for potential application in targeted drug delivery. This is challenging for students to explore practically because of the extremely high risks of handling cross-linking agents such as glutaraldehyde. Genipin is a safe and green alternative that has…

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced educational institutions to adjust their learning process to distance education or online learning. This paper explains how to teach optics during the COVID-19 pandemic by implementing project-based learning that can be supervised online. Students are instructed to design, characterize, and optimize droplet lenses…

Many students consume energy drinks without knowing or thinking about the adverse side effects. The purpose of this article is to share student procedures and results after testing the effects of a popular energy drink, Red Bull, on Dugesia Dorotocephala planarians (flatworms). Planarians are animals with neurotransmitters systems that are similar…

The object on the right-hand side of Fig. 1 is the whistling mechanism of an old-fashioned tea kettle. This started me thinking about similar devices in which a thin blade of air strikes a sharp wedge and a resonator is used to pick out specific frequencies. This note tells how I went about using the frequency spectrum application on a smartphone…

A chemical engineering PhD student from Purdue University completed an internship at The Dow Chemical Company, evaluating the effect of scale on the hydrodynamics of a trickle bed reactor. A unique aspect of this work was that it arose from an ongoing collaboration, so that the project was within the scope of the graduate student's thesis. This…

Research has shown that project-based learning promotes student interest in science and improves understanding of scientific content. Fostering student motivation is particularly important in accelerated science and technology programmes for talented students, which are often demanding and time-consuming. Current texts provide little guidance on…

There is an increasing focus across all educational sectors to ensure that learning objectives are aligned with learning activities and assessments. An attractive approach previously published is that of curriculum alignment projects. This paper discusses the use of the fun and famous "Elephant's Toothpaste" experiment as a customizable…

This article describes a computational project designed for undergraduate students as an introduction to mathematical modeling. Students use an ordinary differential equation to describe fish weight and assume the instantaneous growth rate depends on the concentration of dissolved oxygen. Published laboratory experiments suggest that continuous…

In general, laboratory experiments focus on traditional chemical disciplines. While this approach allows students the ability to learn and explore fundamental concepts in a specific area, it does not always encourage students to explore interdisciplinary science. Often little transfer of knowledge from one area to another is observed, as students…

We describe the projects "Eratosthenes 2009" and "Eratosthenes 2010 America," carried out during the International Year of Astronomy (2009) in Argentina and with almost all the countries in North and South America during 2010. More than 15000 students at more than 200 schools each year determined the radius of the Earth using…

The average American produces around 1,600 pounds of garbage every year, and it is estimated that 50 percent of that waste is material that could be composted (Clean Air Council, 2012). Instead, most is sent to landfills and incinerators. In technology and engineering education, a great deal of time is spent in talking, teaching, and thinking…

From the time they are born, children have a natural curiosity toward the world around them. Even though they can't speak, one can still observe that they are skilled at discovery. Science fair projects can nurture this natural curiosity and give elementary students the opportunity to explore their interests in a rewarding way. Participation in a…