Community
Outreach
The Lehigh Valley Section strives to make "Chemistry for Life" a part of the experience of every one of our neighbors within our 7 county area. From school Science Fairs to our ongoing partnerships with The Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown, we offer Informal Science Education opportunities to kids of all ages, 8-80!
Demonstrate Science
LVACS chemists make science come alive with demonstration tables at schools and civic institutions. It's also a great way for young chemists such as college students to 'give back' what they have already learned and help the community to understand how chemistry impacts their daily lives. Would you like to be the chemist for fascinated kids and their parents? Extract DNA from strawberries? Make edible waterpods? It's fun and mind-opening.
Are you a community member in the PA counties of Berks, Schuylkill, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton, Monroe or Warren NJ looking for a chemical professional to demonstrate science for your group and talk about the chemical profession? Please contact us!
Here's an example of a recent science fair we attended.
ACS CHEMLUMINARY AWARD WINNER!!
"Chemistry Fun with the Berks Chem Society" on BCTV aired its pilot filmed Feb. 26, 2021 with host Greglynn Gibbs, featuring different ways and different things to use to "make a home-made battery" with special guest, battery expert Robert Coller from Enersys, Reading, PA. Take a look at this show: https://youtu.be/CiChpnzWsZY and two subsequent episodes...
The Chemistry of No-Pop Bubbles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEFYi7XaHo0&t=2s.
"Reduce Your Footprint with Shrinky Dinks!": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut7DdsL3p5M.
Da Vinci Science Center
VISIT THE NEW DA VINCI SCIENCE CENTER AT PPL CENTER IN ALLENTOWN!Da Vinci Science Center at PPL Pavilion, 815 W. Hamilton Street, Allentown, PA 18101
The Lehigh Valley section is an active partner with our local science museum, Da Vinci Science Center of Allentown, in "Bringing Science to Life and Lives to Science." Da Vinci's mission meshes splendidly with ACS' mission of "Chemistry for Life" thus making our collaboration truly synergistic. You'll find LVACS chemists celebrating National Chemistry Week (NCW) and Chemists Celebrate Earth Week (CCEW) here every year! In 2020, LVACS was honored by Da Vinci with its Grand Maestro Award in recognition of its substantial contributions to the scientific community and the Center. Here's what we did for: "Marvelous Metals" (NCW 2019) "Sticking with Chemistry" (NCW 2020) "Take Note: The Chemistry of Paper" (CCEW 2019) “FAST/OR SLOW…Chemistry Makes It GO!” (NCW 2021) "The Buzz about Bugs: insect chemistry" (CCEW 2022) "The Curious Chemistry of Amazing Algae" (CCEW 2023) - seaweed was everywhere! "The Healing Power of Chemistry" (NCW 2023). 2024's event was on Saturday, October 19th, 2024 from 6-9 pm with "Picture Perfect Chemistry!"
RED = ACS CHEMLUMINARY AWARD WINNERS
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NCW 2024
“Picture Perfect Chemistry”
National Chemistry Week (NCW) is a public awareness campaign that promotes the value of chemistry in everyday life. Read more about NCW. Our LVACS NCW Coordinator is Philip Elias, philipjelias@gmail.com. The ACS Program-In-a-Box Watch Party “Picture Perfect Chemistry: Laboratory Imaging and Photography” occurred Wednesday, October 23rd, 6-8 pm. The section’s official watch party place was at Lehigh University this year with free pizza and ACS swag for all MC'd by Steve Boyer, LVACS past chair and YCC Chair. A public Outreach event was held on Saturday, October 19th, 2024 from 6-9 pm at Da Vinci Science Center at PPL Pavilion, 815 W. Hamilton Street, Allentown, PA 18101. Also, the annual Illustrated Poetry Contest for K-12 was sponsored (flyer).
CCEW 2025
“Glaciers: Hot Topic, Cool Chemistry”
LVACS celebrated CCEW May 4th, 2025 with the theme, “Glaciers: Hot Topic, Cool Chemistry.” slideshow
Glaciers are sheets of ice formed by snow falling on them more than melting. Over many years, the snow gets packed into ice, to form the large structures we see when we visit places like Antarctica and Greenland.
Glaciers are important for many reasons. They store a lot of fresh water. Snow adds to this stored water, and in warmer weather, some of the ice melts into fresh water. Glaciers are heavy and slide slowly downhill, shaping the land as they move. Their snowy surfaces reflect sunlight, which helps keep the Earth from getting too hot.
Scientists usually expect glaciers to change slowly over a long time. But now, studies show that glaciers are changing faster than before. View the website for more information about glaciers and fun facts like these:
- Did you know that over two-thirds of world’s fresh water is frozen in glaciers?
- Did you know glaciers keep the earth from becoming too warm? They reflect sunlight away and keep the earth comfortable enough for us to live in.
CONTACT: Philip Elias, LVACS CCEW Coordinator philipjelias@gmail.com
Join the fun!
We're always looking for volunteers for a wide variety of outreach events...and each year we award a worthy Volunteer of the Year. Just give us a shout and we'll give you your chemistry magic wand!
Sherri Young, 2025 Outreach VOTY
Sherri Young of Muhlenberg College is recognized for outreach work to strengthen the section.
LVACS congratulates Dr. Sherri Young of Muhlenberg College on being named our Outreach Volunteer of the Year for 2025. Sherri has been a great resource for the Lehigh Valley local section over the past decade. Last year alone, Dr. Young planned and led at least two major initiatives: a career-focused event in collaboration with the Muhlenberg College chemistry club and Women in STEM club, featuring ACS President Dr. Dorothy Phillips, and an annual memorial event honoring the late Dr. Ned Heindel of Lehigh University, complete with an award for excellence in chemistry. Her innovative approaches and consistent participation have set a high standard for outreach, inspiring others and significantly advancing the section's mission and vision.
