Salters’ Festival of Chemistry at Keele
The Salters’ Festival of Chemistry in partnership with The Royal Society of Chemistry at The University of Keele's Department of Chemistry
takes place on Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 April, 2014.
110 students from 22 schools in the Staffordshire and Cheshire area will enjoy two exciting days of chemistry at the Salters' Festivals of Chemistry to be held at The University of Keele on Tuesday 29th and Wednesday 30thh April. Each school will be represented by a team of four 11-13 year olds. The festival on 30th April will be visited by the Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Dr Robert Parker.
During the first festival, the teams will take part in a competitive, hands-on, practical activity, “The Salters’ Challenge” - “The Blot Strokes Again!” in which they will use their analytical chemistry skills. In the afternoon, they will compete in the “University Challenge”, a practical activity chosen by the University, in which they will be required to compare common indigestion remedies This will be followed by a fun lecture, by Dr Katherine Haxton, called ‘What do chemists do all day?’The second festival is adapted by students with additional needs; the programme comprises a challenge to make the best sugar rainbow and testing different soaps to choose the best. An interactive demonstration of ‘Energy and Chemistry’ will be given by Suzy Allen and Gwyn Jones. Both days will end with a Prizegiving at which all participants will be given individual fun prizes and participation certificates and the winning teams will be awarded prizes for their schools.
The Salters' Festivals of Chemistry are an initiative of The Salters' Institute, whose aim is to promote the appreciation of chemistry and related sciences amongst the young, and to encourage careers in the teaching of chemistry and in the UK chemical and allied industries.
The Festival at The University of Keele* is one of a series of 47 Festivals which are taking place at Universities throughout the UK and the Republic of Ireland between March and June 2014.
The Institute is delighted to once again be working in partnership with the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2014.
For more information please contact:
Dr Jane Essex
The University of Keele
Tel No: 01782 733504
E-mail:j.e.essex@keele.ac.uk
Miss Fleur Layzell
Publicity Co-ordinator
The Salters' Institute
Tel No: 020 7628 5962 ext 260
E-mail: publicity@salters.co.uk
Website: www.festivalsofchemistry.co.uk
Editors Notes
1. The Festivals are one-day events for schools held at Universities throughout the UK and Ireland. The first series of Festivals was held in 1991. Festivals were then held in 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998 and 2000. Since 2000 Festivals have been held every year. In 2014 there will be a series of 47 Festivals being hosted by 38 universities between March and June. The aim of the Festivals is to make chemistry more exciting, more relevant and fun to students aged 11 to 13 years and to encourage schools to set up their own chemistry clubs.
2. Competing schools are represented by a team of four students from years 7 or 8 (or equivalent in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland). Prizes for the winning schools are awarded at each Festival and all participants receive fun prizes and certificates. During the last fourteen years, over 41,000 students have experienced the fun of practical chemistry through the Salters' Festivals of Chemistry.
3. Since 1991 sponsorship support of the Festivals has been raised from over one hundred companies. Many of the Festivals are also sponsored by local companies.
4. The Salters’ Company is one of the Great Twelve City of London Livery Companies and was founded in 1394 for the medieval trade in salt. The Company’s activities today are centred on charitable and educational giving. The Salters' Institute, established in 1918, is the Flagship Charity of the Salters' Company and aims to promote the appreciation of chemistry and related sciences amongst the young and to encourage careers in the teaching of chemistry and in the UK chemical and allied industries.
5. The Institute’s three core activities are the Salters' Festivals of Chemistry, in partnership with the Royal Society of Chemistry, for 11 to 13 year olds; Salters' Chemistry Camps for 15 year olds, in partnership with other scientific institutions; and Curriculum Development, undertaken at The University of York, which includes the GCSE course Twenty First Century Science, Salters-Nuffield Advanced Biology, Salters Advanced Chemistry, Salters Horners Advanced Physics and York Science for KS3.