ACS International Chemistry Festival
The Chemistry Festival, or “Festival de Química,” is a community event where chemistry professionals, professors, teachers, and students use hands-on activities to demonstrate and emphasize the importance of chemistry in our everyday life.
Chemistry Festival Organizers receive training by ACS either individually or through participation in a Festival Training Institute, then recruit volunteers from their workplaces, nearby universities, and ACS International Student Chapters. Participants typically range in age from 6 - 15 years old, but everyone can enjoy the fun!
Festival Organizers outside of the U.S. can compete for grants of up to 3000 USD to support their local events. Grant submission opens twice a year, roughly in February and April of each year.
Upcoming Events
October 2018
Mexico City, Mexico
Sarawak, Malaysia
Bogota, Colombia
November 2018
Baghdad, Iraq
Uyo, Nigeria
Belgrade, Serbia
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Bangkok, Thailand
December 2018
Lima, Peru
Chongqing, China
New Zealand, Multiple Sites
History
The “Festival de Química” was started in Puerto Rico in 2005 by Dr. Ingrid Montes. The first goal of the program was to share the joy of chemistry with native Spanish speaking audiences within the U.S. The program quickly spread to Latin America, and then to Asia and Africa.
Exemplary Chemistry Festivals are held in Puerto Rico twice a year as part of celebrations for National Chemistry Week and Chemists Celebrate Earth Week.
In 2010, the Chemistry Festival became an official ACS Program. In 2016, the Festival Training Institute was launched to spread the Chemistry Festival even farther around the globe. ACS International Chemical Sciences Chapters and Allied Societies are invited to send delegations of two to these regional training events to prepare them to host a Chemistry Festival within the year.
We hope to help every International Chemical Sciences Chapter hold a Festival by the end of 2018.
| Program Impact Since 2010 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Festivals | Volunteers | Participants |
| 56 |
> 5,000 | > 67,000 |
Gold - Previous Chemistry Festival Sites
Green - Planned Chemistry Festivals in 2018
Last updated: August 2018
Get Involved!
- See your country highlighted on this map and want to volunteer? Let us know at festival@acs.org
- Want to host your own Chemistry Festival? Read about our Festival Training Institute Program and then write us at: festival@acs.org
- Join the Festival Group on the ACS Network
- Become a Chemistry Ambassador
Other Outreach Programs
Read about our other Outreach Programs, or contact us at: outreach@acs.org
Festivals in the News
FTI Malaysia Alumni Dr. Chang Gi Cho and Dr. Taiho Park worked with other leaders within the ACS South Korea Chapter to organize a Chemistry Festival during the first Asia-Pacific International Chapters Conference in Jeju. ACS President Dr. Allison Campbell and Nobel Laureate Sir Fraser Stoddart also joined the celebrations. Read more about the conference in C&EN, and see photos of the Festival on Twitter (#ACS_APICC).
Festival Organizers and FTI alumni Manuel Fredy Molina Caballero, Carolina Lizarazo Castillo, and Dr. Manuel Noe Chaur Valencia celebrated Mole Day (10/23) and National Chemistry Week with a Chemistry Festival held in Bogotá, Colombia. More than 1300 people participated in this event. You can listen to Manuel Molina talk about the event on the radio at this link (Audio in Spanish).
Congratulations to the ACS JingJinJi International Chemical Sciences Chapter for winning the 2017 Global Engagement Award for International Chemical Sciences Chapters during the 19th Annual ChemLuminary Awards. JingJinJi, led by alumni from our very first Festival Training Institute, hosted an amazing Chemistry Festival that reached more than 2,000 people. Well done!
The ACS Malaysia International Chemical Sciences Chapter, hosts of the most recent Festival Training Institute, recently combined science outreach with an opportunity for students to practice their English in collaboration with the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysian Muslim Scientist Association (PERINTIS) and the Malaysian Education Engineering Association (SEEM). This effort was led by Dr. Mohd. Kamaruddin Abd. Hamid and Dr. Norazana Ibrahim and was covered in the New Sabah Times (article in Malay).
Australia hosted its first Chemistry Festival during the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) Centenary Congress in Melbourne, Australia. Participants completed four hands-on activities in the theme “Chemistry Protecting the Community,” watched a Chemistry Show, and heard a short lecture from Sir Martyn Poliakoff, creator of the Periodic Table of Videos. More than 300 students participated and RACI Leadership hopes to collaborate with ACS on similar future events. Read more about their event at the Australia Festival Website.
The Festival Organizers, Dr. Ludo Dumée and Dr. Tony Baker, represented the ACS Australia International Chemical Sciences Chapter during FTI Malaysia.
The latest Festival held in Lima, Peru was featured on TV Perú! Volunteers demonstrated how to extract DNA from strawberries, and how to use shaving cream and food coloring to create marbeled paper. Our Festival Organizer and FTI Alumna, Fiorella Olivera-Venturo, answered questions at the end of the segment (Audio in Spanish).
Ms. Olivera-Venturo represented the ACS Peru International Chemical Sciences Chapter, along with Dr. Celina Luízar Obregón of Cusco, during FTI Panama.
During the 51st Congress of the Mexican Chemical Society (SQM), the Tabla Periódica Monumental - a larger than life periodic table, complete with volunteers acting as the elements- was a great part of their multiple day Chemistry Festival. Read more about SQM and the Tabla Periódica Monumental (Article in Spanish).
"Chemistry Festival Arrives In Beijing" - Public outreach event is part of Chinese Chemical Society conference.
“Nurturing Chemistry Undergrads” - ACS Programs Help Sharpen Skills Of Students In Puerto Rico Aiming For A Career In Chemistry
The Puerto Rico Local Section celebrated CCED 2013 with its Festival de Química. Joined with Student Chapters and Chem Clubs, more than 200 volunteers collaborated to impact over 2,000 people with hands-on activities, lecture series, and public exhibits. They won the 2014 ChemLuminary Award Winner for Outstanding Community Involvement in Chemists Celebrate Earth Day
Previous Festival Photos
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