THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, August 7, 1995 TAG: 9508070069
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JASON HIDALGO, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
By 8:30 p.m. Sunday, more than 110 teachers and students had put all the elements together - creating an immense periodic table, one that covered more than half of Old Dominion University's soccer field.
A ground-breaking chemistry experiment?
Actually, it was more of an experiment on determination and the ability to patch together large sheets of cloth.
The record-breaking feat was part of Chem Ed '95, a biennial conference of more than 800 chemistry teachers from the United States, Germany, Mexico, Japan and other nations that continues here through Thursday.
The philosophy behind Chem Ed is teachers sharing ideas with teachers, explained Bette Bridges of Sharon, Mass., who was program chair for the 1987 and 1989 conferences.
The program, aimed primarily at high school teachers, is needed, she said, because many chemistry teachers might not otherwise see new techniques devised by colleagues at other schools.
``When you're working alone, you're limited by your own imagination,'' she said. ``With Chem Ed, you suddenly find yourself limited to the imagination of 800 people.''
Sunday, everyone worked together to build what they said is the world's largest periodic table. Ignoring the threatening gray skies and gusty winds, they ran up and down the field, clutching sheets of cloth that represented the symbols for each element. At the same time, the strong winds began blowing away ``elements'' that had already been laid out.
Soon, shoes began flying as members of the audience offered their footwear to weight down the cloths.
By the time the pouring rain began, everybody welcomed it, cheering and raising their hands in triumph as a helicopter circled above, taking pictures of the table, which measured more than 72 feet long and 144 feet wide.
``We did it!'' said Karin McElvein of Cox High School, one of Chem Ed '95's co-chairs.
``It's nice to see what other people around the country are doing,'' said Steven Arnold, a professor from Vincennes University in Indiana. ``Some people may have better ways of getting a point across or displaying a phenomenon.''
One such display was the ``methane mamba,'' a fiery demonstration of the principle of combustion and hydrocarbon burning. It was designed by Bob Becker of Kirkwood High School in St. Louis, Mo.
It's nice to have a flashy display and draw a chemistry equation to explain it, said Arnold, who is in his second year of teaching. He plans to pick up some teaching pointers from conference veterans.
``It will be like learning from the masters,'' he said.
Chem Ed '95 came to Norfolk through the efforts of the Tidewater Alliance of Chemistry Teachers, which submitted its proposal during Chem Ed '93.
Transcripts of the conference's different demonstrations are displayed in an area aptly called ``the trading post,'' which organizers hope will help stimulate participants' minds.
``You might not be able to use all of (the ideas) but we hope that they would at least plant an idea in your mind,'' Bridges said ``If you don't walk away with at least one good teaching idea, then you haven't been to a Chem Ed.'' ILLUSTRATION: JOSEPH JOHN KOTLOWSKI
The periodic table of the elements is spread wide on ODU's soccer
field by participants in Chem Ed '95 Sunday. The gathering, held
every two years, draws more than 800 chemistry teachers worldwide.
by CNB