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HomeAchieversDepartment of Chemistry and Physics Hosts Budget-Friendly Lab Workshop

Department of Chemistry and Physics Hosts Budget-Friendly Lab Workshop

Belmont’s Department of Chemistry and Physics recently hosted its second annual “It’s Easy Being Green: Budget-Friendly Safety-Conscious Chemistry Labs for the Science Classroom of Today” workshop series for middle and high school physical science and chemistry teachers in the Middle TN area.

Workshop themes for this year were “Cranberry Chemistry:  Science with Superfruits” and “Spice Up Your Chemistry Lab with Neutralization Reactions.” Event organizer Dr. Danielle Garrett, assistant professor of chemistry education, held four day-long workshops in the chemistry labs in the Janet Ayers Academic Center during the month of June. During these workshops, 42 attendees from 13 counties participated in hands-on science. All participants received a complete instructor-student lab manual, and teachers attending “Cranberry Chemistry:  Science with Superfruits” each built a budget-friendly colorimeter that they were able to take back for classroom use.

Not only were participants pleased with the workshop format, but they were also excited that the labs tied into content-specific learning goals, finding the workshops “practical, organized and fun,” “easily reproducible” and full of “excellent content.”  One teacher was quoted as saying, it was the “best workshop I’ve attended in several years!”

“When developing and planning my workshops, I strive to develop cost-effective and fun labs that provide reproducible results and are easily integrated into the curriculum, while meeting TN state standards,” Garrett said. “The positive and enthusiastic responses and feedback from local teachers have been very encouraging.  I’m already looking forward to developing new ideas for next year’s workshops!”

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