Educational Resources
NCW 2024 Picture Perfect Chemistry
Find educational resources for this year's National Chemistry Week theme and other materials for your event, including outreach activities, articles, and videos.
Explore and identify how chemistry plays an essential role in photography. Learn more about the chemical processes that create a traditional photograph. Today, modern technology called imaging uses things like sound waves, different types of light, and even streams of electrons to make images we can’t see with our natural eyes. These imaging tools make the pictures we use for important things like medicine, space exploration, research, and much more!
High School (Ages 14-18)
- Activity: Radiological Application of Isotopes
- Activity: Nuclear Medicine Half-Lives
- Activity: The Lung Cancer Mystery
- Lesson Plan: Polaroid Photography
- Lesson Plan: Fading Away
- ChemMatters Article: Turning the Lens on Chemistry: Interview with Felice Frankel, Science Photographer at Harvard University
- ChemMatters Article: The Chemistry of Digital Photography and Printing
Middle School (Ages 11-13)
From the American Association of Chemistry Teachers
- Lesson Plan: Let it Glow
- Video: Frontiers of Chemistry
From Middle School Chemistry
- Periodic Table Challenge
Read questions about the number of protons, neutrons, and electrons. Score points by picking the correct element as the answer. - Interactive Periodic Table Elements 1-20
Find out how beryllium, carbon, aluminum and silicon have helped us get great photos or understand how atoms are arranged on the surface of a sample.
Elementary School (Ages 5-10)
From the American Association of Chemistry Teachers
From Adventures in Chemistry
- Chemistry and Comics
Transfer the ink from a newspaper comic onto another paper. Will water, alcohol, or detergent solution work the best to transfer a picture. - The Secret Science of Atoms
Discover just how small atoms are. Its no wonder chemists use methods called “imaging” to help us get an idea of how atoms are arranged.
More Resources for Educators
- Celebrating Chemistry
Celebrating Chemistry is a publication designed to engage and educate children (grades 4-6) in the basic principles of chemistry and is available in both English and Spanish. - Meg A. Mole Career Profiles
Read all about Meg's many adventures! These interviews are an excellent resource for teachers to inform their students about the activities chemists perform every day. Need to explain a mole? Check out our “Meet the Moles!” web page. - ChemMatters
ChemMatters is a magazine that helps high school students find connections between chemistry and the world around them. Check out our article on Laura Hoch, a material innovation chemist for Patagonia.
- 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. - National Historic Chemical Landmarks
Learn about special places in chemical history, and download lesson plans for engaging classrooms. Check out the following Chemical Landmarks: Wallace Carothers and the Development of Nylon, Cotton Products Research: Durable Press and Flame Retardant Cotton, Development of Tide Synthetic Detergent
General Interest Resources
Find NCW-themed resources for college students and adults.
