Dr. Brent Friesen from Dominican University is part of a Science Alliance residency in Ms. Darley’s 4th-grade class at Whittier. In one visit, he explored chemical reactions with the kids. He demonstrated the chemical term “hydrophobe,” which is the aversion of a molecule, or part of a molecule, to water. He also made artificial snow from sodium polyacrylate (the material inside disposable diapers).
In a separate visit, Dr. Friesen’s colleague Dr. Daniela Andrei conducted experiments in chemical reactions and densities of liquids with the 4th graders.
The students completed their residency with an exciting field trip to the organic chemistry labs at Dominican, where they performed hands-on experiments, sometimes with really dramatic outcomes.
Dr. Friesen is a professor and department chair of chemistry at Dominican; Dr. Andrei is associate professor of chemistry. Thanks for showing kids the magic of science!