Holy Trinity Catholic School students were treated to a series of chemistry demonstrations from MacEwan University professor Lucio Gelmini on May 17.
Gelmini tours Alberta every year with his chemistry demonstration show Chemistry All Around Us, and he estimates he has reached about 20,000 kids per year, since starting in the year 2000.
“My kids would go to preschool and the teacher would ask ‘could you come in and do a little thing’ and once they’re in kindergarten to Grade 2, kids started to ask ‘could you do something that could kill us but just back it off a little’ and that’s where it really started to get serious,” said Gelmini.
Gelmini goes into these demonstrations with the hope to inspire kids to take an interest in a career in science. There were plenty of inspired faces during the show who may now have a deeper passion for science.
Although he did not see a show like this when he was young, Gelmini was inspired by a teacher while in high school in Windsor, Ont.
“It was definitely a teacher in Grade 12. He did chemistry demonstrations and was able to relate it to the things happening around us,” Gelmini said.
Gelmini has taken the idea of relating chemistry to the things around us to heart and makes that the anchor of the show.
“One set of demos has to do with hydrogen gas and how it’s a relatively clean burning fuel; it doesn’t make carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases. Just show them a fuel that may save us in the future.”
In the demonstrations there were plenty of flames, loud booms and explosions that were met with awe and wonder by the students.
Grade 5 student Hannah Zurkan was impressed with all that she got to see, and the experience increased her interest in science.
“I really liked the sonic boom because it was really loud and it was cool to see when it exploded,” Zurkan said with excitement in her voice.
Also in attendance was Grade 6 student Darrius Paul, whose favourite demonstration is an iconic one.
“Mentos and Coke because of the fizz and how tall it went; you can prank your friends,” said Paul.
Gelmini has had an impact on some of the students he’s visited but isn’t aware of anyone who has gone into a career in science because of his show.
“I’ve had a few people who would talk to me and they said this one fellow wanted to do more science and really started to take off in having a greater interest in science,” Gelmini said. “I don’t know if I’ve really met anyone that finished a degree and told me that.”
