NCW Coordinator Toolkit

What NCW Coordinators Do

ACS local sections and international chapters can designate one official National Chemistry Week Coordinator who serves as the point person for the rest of their section or chapter. NCW Coordinators perform or delegate the following responsibilities:

• Plan and support hands-on science events, community service events, illustrated poem contests, and any other type of events that celebrate NCW.
• Order and distribute free and discounted promotional merchandise available through the ACS Store.
• Spread the word about the goals and annual themes through communications, media relations, social media, partnerships, and other promotional channels.
• Report the impact of all section or chapter activities including any school group, industry, or section/chapter activities that celebrate NCW.

ACS Student Chapters and ChemClubs are encouraged to plan activities for NCW. Reach out to your local NCW Coordinator to establish a partnership and see how you can be involved!

How to Become an NCW Coordinator

If your section or chapter doesn’t have an NCW Coordinator, reach out to your chair for with your interest in becoming the official NCW Coordinator.

• Local Sections
  • Use the NCW Coordinator Lookup to find your chair name and contact information. Send them a message to express your interest in coordinating events for your section.
• International Chapters
  • Visit the NCW Coordinator contact web page to see if you have a coordinator or visit your international chapter web page to find your chair name and contact information. Send them a message to express your interest in coordinating events for your section.

Types of Events to Coordinate Across Your Section/Chapter

Don’t limit yourself, your section or chapter members, your student groups, or anyone else in your community hoping to plan events for NCW. There are so many ways to celebrate! Here are some ideas for types of events to coordinate:

• Hands-on science event or science festival
• Walk-by booth or table at a mall, museum, or library
• Community service event
• Webinar event
• Illustrated poem contest
• Classroom visit
• Lab/facility tour
• Networking happy hour
• Guest lecture
• Science cafe
• Teacher workshop
• Section or chapter member meeting
• Media appearance
• Industry day
• Academic bowl in preparation for the US National Chemistry Olympiad

Timeline and Key Dates

• July
  • Take pre-NCW survey
• August 
  • NCW campaign and resource launch
• October
  • Last date to order free materials from the ACS Store to arrive on time for NCW.
• Third week of October
  • Celebrate National Chemistry Week!
• November
  • Take post-NCW survey

Assemble Your Team

Coordinating successful NCW activities is a team effort. Recruit other volunteers and delegate other tasks to them as needed. Here are some ideas for volunteer roles you might recruit for:

• NCW Task Force Members
  • Here are some things your planning team members can do: seek partnerships and donations, set strategy for event theme, plan logistics, help promote events, design and select hands-on activities, and coordinate kit creation and distribution.
• Communications Director
  • This volunteer will promote your event in local media and on social media.
• Designer/Photographer
  • Recruit a student or designer in your local section to take photographs at your event and/or design promotional materials using the Design Toolkit.
• Illustrated Poem Contest Coordinator/Judges
  • Recruit volunteers to plan and judge a local illustrated poem contest to submit winners to the ACS-sponsored national illustrated poem contest.
• Safety Manager
  • Assign someone to review and perform a risk-assessment on any planned hands-on activities or demonstrations.
• Activity Facilitators
  • The NCW Coordinator will need support facilitating hands-on and virtual science activities at events.
• Event Support
  • Assign volunteers on site to assist with event check-in and check-out, as well as helping your attendees with wayfinding.

Don’t forget to thank volunteers for pitching in their time and resources for ensuring that your NCW event is a success. Download Volunteer Thank You Letter (docx).