Crystals, Candy, and Clinker—Gahanna

This workshop will introduce teachers of middle school science, chemistry, earth science, geology and environmental science to materials sciences. A review of 9 labs will help students see various applications of materials in everyday life.

Participants will:

•  observe how thermal processing impacts metals
• discover how metals and glass react to annealing and quenching
• create composite materials to test

Activities will include:

• Hot or Not? Heat a brick on one side without heat affecting the other side.
• Candy fiber pull: Heat Jolly Ranchers and see how sugar fibers resemble the fibers of glass.
• Glass bead on a wire: Identify metals using borax and heat.
• Engineered concrete: Mix cement and composite materials to see which is strongest.
• Piezoelectric materials: Discover materials that generate an electric charge with applied pressure.
• Shape memory alloys: Observe alloys that return to their original shape after heating and bending.
• Thermal processing of bobby pins: Experiment with annealing and quenching to see the effect on metal.
• Thermal shock: Determine the differences in glass materials when heated and cooled.
• How strong is your chocolate? See if your favorite candy bar can stand up to weight.

Participants will hear from industry experts about careers and real-world applications during lunch, and addresses standards in chemistry, physical science, environmental science and physical geology.

All participants will receive a materials science classroom kit ($250 value) and .7 CEUs, as well as the opportunity to apply for replacement supplies through a kit grant option.