National Chemistry Week In Full Swing

Congressional staffers, members of the American Chemical Society and its board of directors, and the general public gathered for a reception on Tuesday evening at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill to celebrate National Chemistry Week (NCW), being held this week by ACS local sections all over the country. This year's theme, "Your Home—It's All Built on Chemistry," focuses on chemistry and the home.

During the reception, hosted by ACS in partnership with the American Chemistry Council (ACC), representatives from ACC demonstrated how the chemistry of plastics can help homeowners save energy. And volunteers from the Chemical Society of Washington showed attendees how to test the surface tension of water and how to illustrate the pressure of a liquid by making a Cartesian diver out of a plastic soda bottle, among other hands-on science experiments. Attendees mixed and mingled and talked all things chemistry.

NCW is ACS's largest annual outreach event, uniting local sections with businesses, schools, and individuals to communicate the importance of chemistry to everyday life. More than 10,000 volunteers are expected to participate in educational activities at venues ranging from elementary schools to shopping malls.

National Chemistry Day was first celebrated in 1987 and was the vision of former ACS president George C. Pimentel. The first celebration kicked off with a parade down the streets of Washington, D.C. In 1989, the celebration was expanded to a biennial full-week event, and in 1993, National Chemistry Week became an annual celebration. Today, members of ACS local sections, educators, and other individual volunteers hold simultaneous events nationwide to impress on the public the importance of chemistry in everyday life.

To help celebrate NCW, ACS Immediate Past-President Bill Carroll is traveling this week to 10 cities throughout the Midwest. Read his blog at www.chemistryweek.org. For more information on National Chemistry Week, visit chemistry.org/ncw.