A visit by the representatives of the lollipop guild

This past week my lab was invaded by the ECP (Early Childhood Program) and KG1&2 classes. You see, word gets out when you wear three pairs of safety goggles on stage, tell bad jokes regarding moles and Avogadro, and then burn Rs 500 notes without the bill itself being consumed. The teachers of these classes heard about my exploits and asked if I wouldn't be interested in doing some experiments with their wee ones. A sucker for little kids in safety goggles, I happily obliged.

Donning my white lab coat (recently washed even) and my Sunday best, I proceeded to tell the kids how we can identify when a chemical reaction is taking place. We discussed things like:

• Gas Evolution
• Precipitate Formation
  
• Colour Change
• Sounds
• Heat Released/Absorbed
• Light Production

I started them off simple with the production of hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide gases. Adding magnesium metal to a test tube full of 2M HCl does a nice job of produce large amounts of hydrogen. A burning splint gives it a nice 'POP!' too. Oxygen can be produced by adding a scoop of potassium iodide powder to 30% hydrogen peroxide. Placing a glowing splint over the mouth of the test tube should make it easily reignite in the presence of the gas. A few scoops of calcium carbonate and a bit of acid will produce lots of carbon dioxide gas which when bubbled into a limewater solution causes the solution to turn milky white.

The kids were surprisingly well behaved and attentive. I could tell, however, that little things in test tubes were becoming less and less interesting. I therefore decided to step things up a bit and went right into lighting things on fire and blowing stuff up. First, I pulled out ethanol. I poured a small amount onto the benchtop and ignited it so they could see it burn. Once it burnt itself out I pulled out a large water cooler jug and poured a healthy amount of the liquid and allowed it to vapourise. One of the teachers was kind enough to provide some assistance and helped me to light the contraption. A sudden blue flame comes rushing out of the mouth of the jug with a loud whoosh. I didn't add enough this time but I have added enough before to actually knock the drop in ceiling tiles out of their brackets.

Now burning ethanol is fun enough but I knew these kids wanted more and bigger. I kept an ace up my sleeve for the finale of the show. I took them all over the fume hood where I had my thermit experiment set up. The kids loved it and cheered happily upon its conclusion. I finished off the time by letting them write secret messages using lemon juice. All you have to do is brush it on, let it dry, and then heat the paper over a flame to reveal the message.

Now, you may be thinking, "Aww, what a sweet guy to do all of that stuff for the little kids, and they really looked like they enjoyed it too!" but let me assure you I was well payed for my services. The day before the show I received a delicious loaf of chocolate chip banana bread and the day of I got a box full of homemade lemon tarts. I tell you, each day I get a new reason to extend my contract for another year.

Here's some pictures for you to enjoy.

I figured I had to put this photo in here. This is Jagdish, our lab assistant. I'm sure that without him to help us set up our labs I would surely have gone insane here trying to keep up with everything I have so far with labs on top of it.

On a side note, if I may make a request. If you are planning on sending a care package any time soon, may I humbly request a few packets of taco seasoning. I have discovered ways of making delicious tacos and would love to be able to make more of this wondrous comfort food.