The Pasadena City College (PCC) chemistry club focuses on raising interest in chemistry and participation of students and the community in chemistry related activities. The club accomplishes this by engaging in community outreach, creating a network with other STEM clubs of PCC, and by hosting chemistry related events which allow students to show their creativity through chemistry. The club’s emphasis on reaching out to youth and families to engage and raise interest in chemistry is exemplified in our “Family Day”, a collaborative event with the Society of Hispanic Engineers (SHPE), engineering, and other PCC clubs. Families of club members and PCC students were invited to PCC to spend an entire day participating in science experiments and demonstrations. These experiments and demonstrations were based on what club members have learned in their STEM classes. The PCC chemistry club also hosts guest speakers and workshops to illustrate the variety of career paths in chemistry. For example, following this year’s theme for national chemistry week, the club hosted a LAPD Forensic Scientist to discuss the use of chemistry in solving crime mysteries. The PCC chemistry club also hosts professional development workshops, like “<i>The ‘three-pass approach’ to reading scientific literature</i>” which was targeted towards STEM students interested in pursuing research. During national chemistry week, the club board and members also showed their creativity in raising chemistry interest in the community by participating in a chemistry magic show. Various exciting chemistry demonstrations were performed which allowed attendees to witness first-hand a display of chemical reactions. The club members then explained the chemistry of the demonstrations to the audience, tying the “magic” of the show back into the science. Overall, the PCC chemistry club tries to inspire members of the PCC community to find love for chemistry.

Pasadena City College Chemistry Club

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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