In this context laboratory experiences can exert a decisive effect in causing students to choose a career in chemistry, or at the very least leaving the study of chemistry with a strong appreciation of the adventure offered by this field. Alas, we seem to be entering an era in which chemistry labs are regarded as some form of luxury not worthy of much serious attention. Yet, it is during the student's first formative encounter with chemistry that good labs are most needed. At the heart of what we know about chemistry is finding out how nature behaves and that nature can really tell us its secrets if we persist in asking the right questions. No amount of book learning or computer-aided instruction can replace real experimentation.
Chemistry labs are often dull and boring, dreaded practical training sessions that students despise.
Too often laboratory work is performed in some rote manner in which students follow time-honored procedures while teaching assistants stand by chanting traditional incantations and admonitions. Nothing could be better designed to stifle curiosity and stop exploration of the workings of nature. But chemistry labs need not be this way. To meet this challenge to create more captivating chemistry labs, I have been involved in a project for the past ten years to devise a set of simple experiments using nothing more than a laser pointer, a light meter, and a few safe chemicals. Approximately 50 different experiments are described that are suitable for turning into labs and lecture demonstrations at primarily the beginning college level.