The groups were awarded a Student Community Action Network mini-grant from the Michigan Campus Compact, a coalition composed of public and private colleges and universities in Michigan that helps to facilitate community service. The grant will help to purchase supplies such as glue for making slime and other materials needed for demonstrations and experiments. The Chemistry Club, CEM, the science departments and organizations all participate with hands-on experiments and demonstrations that teach and amaze students and their siblings.
Activities range from holograms to slime-making to snake feeding.
Students from Alma College travel to third and fourth grade classrooms in the Alma, St. Louis, Shepherd and Winn areas to give demonstrations about various chemistry phenomena such as examples of the states of matter. One presentation was even given for the entire St. Louis Middle School. The program seeks to spark interest for science in children through attention-grabbing demonstrations and participation from the children during experiments. About 30 Alma College students are involved in the Chemistry Club and CEM and all contribute in various ways to the programs, including writing the grant proposal that was submitted for this grant. Students involved in these programs plan events, contact and arrange schedules with area schools, purchase supplies and create unique, educational demonstrations for audiences of all age groups.