.comment-link {margin-left:.6em;}

Sunday, August 20, 2006

 

Open Day and Balloon Molecules

Well, Open Day is over for another year. I spent the whole day at our Schools stand, talking about how wonderful science is. As this is something I passionately believe in, it's easy for me to spend a lot of time talking. The Bettdeckererschnappender Weisle and the boys went to the Science Week exhibits at the South Australian Museum, while I entertained prospective students with Balloon Molecules. There is a serious purpose in this, while people were mildly bemused to recieve models of agmatine, and look at the demonstration model of noradrenaline I made, I use 3D molecular visualization in my classes to help students get a feel for how chemical structures interact. I use either plastic models or computer based programs, but ballon molecules are inexpensive, simple to make and don't require a working computer in a class room. They are a good fun way to get students thinking about molecular shapes.

Comments: Post a Comment



<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?