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ORU Gets Students Excited about Chemistry

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Chemistry students accompanied by assistant professor of chemistry Gary Ritzhaupt went to Tulsa East Central High School and performed a series of chemical demonstrations to promote chemistry and the sciences at the secondary level. The demonstrations were performed for seven different classes of chemistry which included approximately 230 students. Dr. Lois Ablin, assistant professor of organic chemistry, assisted in the demonstrations.

Dr. Lois Ablin and Dr. Joel Gaikwad, assistant professor of biology, took seven Organic Chemistry I lab students to Celia Clinton Elementary School for a student-led hands-on experiment involving DNA. They visited two fifth-grade classrooms and demonstrated a DNA model and DNA kits and instructed students in isolating their own DNA from cheek cells. Tulsa Rotary provided grant money to purchase necessary supplies for these demonstrations.

Gary Ritzhaupt, assistant professor of chemistry, Dr. Ablin, and eight organic chemistry students went to Marshall Elementary School to meet with three fifth-grade classrooms totaling 60 students. The students tested basic household chemicals such as Sprite, lemon juice, baking soda, window cleaner, vinegar and sugar and salt water for acidity and basicity using the red cabbage test.

Dr. Ablin took four students to Grace Christian School to help ORU alumnus and Grace Christian School chemistry teacher Julie Dionne organize and inventory the chemistry storage area. This was an Iota Sigma Pi (the national honor society for women in chemistry) service project.