Colorado State University Chemistry Club’s Halloween Haunted House this Saturday

Come see spooky science during the annual Halloween haunted house hosted by the Colorado State University Chemistry Club from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27, in the Chemistry Building on Colorado State’s main campus.

Chemistry shows, relay races and arts and crafts are all part of this year’s celebration. The show is geared for elementary students, but children of all ages are welcome. The cost is $3 for children and $2 for adults.

Colorado State’s Chemistry Club, an organization created and run by Colorado State students from several disciplines, takes a series of science shows to several elementary and middle schools each year. Themes for classroom demonstrations center on detective mysteries and elements from the Harry Potter literary series. All the demonstrations – even making root beer floats with nitrogen – are based on educational guidelines established by the state of Colorado.

"If we can reach out and capture the interest of kids, then we can possibly increase the number of students who want to enter science-related fields," said Dan Targoff, president of the Colorado State Chemistry Club.

Getting kids interested in science is easier with demonstrations like "Harry Potter Potions Activity," which uses the book’s characters to help children understand the differences between exothermic reactions, which generate heat, and endothermic reactions, which require heat. The activity revolves around an assignment that Professor Snape (a teacher in the books) has given Harry and his friends, Hermione, Ron and Malfoy, that requires them to make a potion from two liquids and one solid that will create heat when mixed together. Two other Harry Potter-based modules help children learn about states of matter – solids, liquids and gases – and about acids, bases and indicators.

The Colorado State Chemistry Club does not charge for in-school demonstrations and is funded through its annual fundraiser of selling fashionable lab goggles to Colorado State chemistry students.

For more information about the Colorado State Chemistry Club, visit online at www.chm.colostate.edu/organizations.html or e-mail csuchemclub@yahoo.com.

– 30 –