Glaciers, slime, and science at ACS Kids Zone in San Diego

On March 22, the Saturday before the official start of the ACS Spring 2025 meeting, the American Chemical Society hosted a free, family-friendly event at the Logan Memorial Educational Campus in San Diego. About 200 kids showed up to a space set up with stations themed around glaciers to participate in hands-on science experiments led by real scientists.

This 1-day event was one of a select set of events sponsored by ACS president Dorothy J. Phillips. This event signaled the importance of reaching out to the local community and, more importantly, showing kids how ‘chill’ science can be. Phillips said taking part in Kids Zone is what gives her the energy to make it through the rest of the meeting—the kids are “fantastic,” to put it simply.

The event stations included six experiments: “Snap, Crackle, Pop!” used carbonated hard candy to mimic the sounds of glaciers; “Ice Cores Count” helped participants visualize the layers of ice cores and understand what materials snow can collect; “Ice Melt Race” engaged with temperature changes to show what conditions melt our glaciers the fastest; “Slime: A Model Glacier” helped participants understand liquids, solids, and bonds while they created play slime; “Glaciers on the Move” allowed participants to learn how glaciers collect materials and more as play slime glided down the side of a bowl; and “Icy Lakes and Oceans,” showed participants the science of why ice water sinks or floats. Other stations included an opportunity to ask a chemist a question and a selfie photo booth where participants could dress up as a scientist.

“I think the scientists are smart, the way they explain things,” Yohanna, who is in third grade, said about going through the stations.

The glacier model station and ice core station stayed with the younger kids who were asked as they exited what their favorite part had been. Naomi, a kindergartner, and Julian, a preschooler, couldn’t believe how stretchy the slime was. When Naomi was asked if she thought she might like being a scientist, she said, “Yes! Because then I get to learn about this more,” talking about the slime in her hands.

The kids interviewed were excited to go home and share what they had learned with their siblings, cousins, and other family members. Bethel, who is in seventh grade, thought she might also be able to bring her experience up in school if the class were studying a related topic.

Older students were fascinated by the “Snap, Crackle, Pop!” and “Icy Lakes and Oceans” stations. “I didn’t realize carbon dioxide was in our candy,” Isaiah, a high school senior, said. And he noted his interest in following up on the ingredients in other candies he enjoys.

Almost all the kids interviewed thought being a scientist would be fun, but the high school seniors interviewed also recognized it’d be hard. Amani, a junior, and Izel, a ninth grader, had engineering on their short list of careers they might want to pursue when they finish their secondary education.

ACS is planning more cool outreach in the coming months. Chemists Celebrate Earth Week will take place April 21–27 with the theme “Glaciers: Hot Topic, Cool Chemistry!”. And National Chemistry Week will take place the third week of October. You can learn more about ACS chemistry outreach activities at https://www.acs.org/education/activities.html.