Educational Resources

Celebrating Chemistry Articles and Activities

Celebrating Chemistry is designed to engage and educate children ages 9-12 (Grades 4-6) in the basic principles of chemistry.

• (Re)Cycling Water (PDF)
  Can you recycle water? Is it possible to separate pure water from polluted water? Find out in this investigation.
• Earth-Friendly Plastics (PDF) 
  Learn about bioplastics—and then make your own biodegradable water pods.
• Composting Chemistry (PDF)
  Learn more about the chemistry of compost in this long-term experiment.
• Edible Water Pods (PDF)
  Explore alternative food packaging and earth-friendly plastics in this outreach version of the edible water pods activity.

AACT Resources

The American Association of Chemistry Teachers (AACT) is a professional community by and for K–12 teachers of chemistry. Connect with peers, discover quality classroom resources, and achieve your professional goals.

• Activity: Is Air Matter?
  
• Lab: Reuse, Reduce and Recycle!
• Activity: Sunshine for Life*
• Demo: Global Warming in a Jar*
• Lab: Settle that Soil*

Resources marked with an asterisk (*) will be unlocked during the week of CCEW, April 19 – 26.

AACT Resources

The American Association of Chemistry Teachers (AACT) is a professional community by and for K–12 teachers of chemistry. Connect with peers, discover quality classroom resources, and achieve your professional goals.

• Activity: Would You Drink It?
  
• Lab: Greenhouse Gas Simulation
  
• Lesson Plan: Cleaning-up the Plastic Island
  
• Lesson Plan: The Building Blocks of Photosynthesis
  
• Activity: Achieving a Photosynthetic Balance*
  
• Lab: How Do Sinkholes Form?*
  
• Lesson Plan: Carbon, Carbon Everywhere*
  

Resources marked with an asterisk (*) will be unlocked during the week of CCEW, April 19 – 26.

ChemMatters Articles

ChemMatters is a magazine that helps high school students find connections between chemistry and the world around them.

• Ancient Soil Chemists of the Amazon (PDF)
  Unravel an ancient mystery as to how rainforest soils could be used for cultivation by Amazonians 500 years ago.
• Plastics Go Green (PDF)
  Learn about the pros and cons of producing plant-based plastics as an alternative to using petroleum—for consumers and for the environment.
• It’s Not Easy Being Green...Or Is It? (PDF)
  Use Life Cycle Analysis (“cradle to grave”) to evaluate the environmental impact of daily decisions.

More ChemMatters sustainability articles →

AACT Resources

The American Association of Chemistry Teachers (AACT) is a professional community by and for K–12 teachers of chemistry. Connect with peers, discover quality classroom resources, and achieve your professional goals.

• Activity: Calculating Your Carbon Footprint
  
• Activity: Sustainability
  
• Lab: Greenhouse Gas Simulation
  
• Lesson Plan: Cleaning-up the Plastic Island
  
• Lesson Plan: Redesigning a Car for the Environment
  
• Project: Sustainable Energy Evaluation
  
• Video: Alternative Fuels
• Lab: An Environmental Impact Study*
  
• Lab: How Do Sinkholes Form?*
  
• Lab: The Case of the Contaminated Well*
  
• Lab: Seeing the Effects of Acid Rain*
  
• Lesson Plan: Biofuels of the Future*
  

Resources marked with an asterisk (*) will be unlocked during the week of CCEW, April 19 – 26.

More high school resources

• ChemCatcher (PDF)
  Cut and fold the ChemCatcher, then play to reveal 50 years of Earth Day trivia.
• Energy Foundations for High School Chemistry
  Teach the big ideas about energy in your high school chemistry classroom! Exercises, lab investigations, videos and demos focus on the fundamentals of chemical, mechanical, nuclear and gravitational energy.
• National Historic Chemical Landmarks
  Learn about special places in chemical history, and download lesson plans for engaging classrooms.

Chemistry in Context Simulations

Chemistry in Context is a successful, issues-based curriculum developed by the American Chemical Society for non-science majors at the college level. These web-based simulations allow students to better understand different methods, manipulate variables to investigate properties, and see chemistry happen before their eyes.

• Ozone in the atmosphere
  Simulate an ozone molecule interacting with various regions of the EM spectrum.
• CFCs in the atmosphere
  Simulate the effects that EM radiation has on CFC molecules.
• IR Windows for Greenhouse Gases
  Simulate IR spectra for various greenhouse gases.
• Historic Climate Change
  Simulate the impact of selected greenhouse gases on climate change over the past 800,000 years.
• Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry
  Watch a video on how isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) is used to evaluate our planet's climate history.
• Build a Planet
  Find a radiation balance necessary for life on a planet.
• Carbon Stabilization Wedges
  Explore the summative effects of various technologies on their carbon output.
• Solar Radiation: Origin of UV light
  Find out where UV light comes from, and explore how the atmosphere protects us from UV radiation.
• Ocean Acidification
  Explore how a change in carbon dioxide concentration in the ocean affects the pH as well as the bicarbonate and carbonate ion concentrations.

More college resources

• ChemCatcher (PDF)
  Cut and fold the ChemCatcher, then play to reveal 50 years of Earth Day trivia.
• 10 Ways Chemistry Students Can Celebrate Earth Day’s 50th Anniversary
  How can you help ignite change? We've got ideas on how to remind peers and the public that chemistry has solutions for a greener and more sustainable future in this inChemistry article.

Outreach Training Video

Reactions Videos

Webinars

Upcoming

• Program-in-a-Box – The Future of Food
  February 25, 2020, 6:45–8pm ET
  Discover how chemists are shaping the future of food. Register your ACS group by February 7, 2020 to receive your free box full of prizes, handouts and activities. Any group can register and participate in this live, interactive webcast.

Past Webinars

• How Sustainable Chemistry is Safer Chemistry
  David Constable demonstrates how the best science is that which incorporates safety and green chemistry into the design and practice.
• Riding the Wave of Green Chemistry: How to Enhance Awareness of Plastics in the Ocean
  Jane Wissinger and Reuben Hudson will highlight outreach and curriculum materials that teach polymer basics, how plastics are reaching our oceans, and innovations by chemists, applying green principles, to develop more sustainable materials.
• Sustainability Challenges of the Textiles, Dyeing and Finishing Industries: Opportunities for Innovation
  Richard Blackburn discusses the techniques being scrutinized so that textiles become more efficient from the technical, economic and ecological perspective.
• Natural, Sustainable Innovation: L’Oréal’s Commitment to Renewable Materials and Eco-Friendly Processes
  Michel Philippe discuss the importance of using renewable raw materials, designing resource-efficient synthesis methods with minimal environmental impact, and developing substances with favorable environmental profiles designed with their subsequent degradation in mind.

Browse more ACS Webinars →

• Earth Day’s Education Resource Library
  Browse Earth Day’s resources to guide your environmental education lessons and stewardship activities on Earth Day and throughout the year.
• Beyond Benign | Green Chemistry Education
  Explore a variety of resources designed for K-12 and higher education educators interested in implementing green chemistry with their students.
• Green Chemistry Institute Educational Resources
  Learn the chemistry concepts and skills that embrace life cycle thinking and provide a foundation for contributing to a sustainable future through chemistry.
• Illustrated Poem Contest
  As part of every NCW celebration, the ACS sponsors a national illustrated poem contest for K-12th grade students.
• Journal of Chemical Education
  A journal for chemical educators featuring activities and articles.
• Science Safety Guidelines
  Consult the Science Safety Guidelines to incorporate safe practices into your teaching curriculum.