03/2015

The CCHF had a major presence and impact as a proud Copper level sponsor of the Atlanta Science Festival for the second year in a row and as the host of the CCHF Exploration Expo Science Café.

The Atlanta Science Festival is a week-long celebration of science in metropolitan Atlanta. The culminating event is the ASF Exploration Expo, chaired by the CCHF’s own Director for Education, Outreach, & Diversity Dr. Monya Ruffin.

On March 28, 2015, The CCHF Science Café -a large tent with seating for up to 30 people - presented a broad range of interactive chemistry demos and science talks to over 400 people of all ages and backgrounds. The Café was coordinated by Dr. Tracy McGill, with assistance from Dr. Felicia Fullilove (Former CCHF Communicating Chemistry Postdoc; Spelman College). Café presenters included Dan Morton, Seth Marder, Cora MacBeth, Tracy McGill, Spelman College Chemistry Club, Pi Alpha (Emory), and a panel of chemists from Emory, Georgia Tech, and Spelman. Two former CCHF CSURP fellows served on the panel. Several CCHF graduate students and postdocs from CCHF Atlanta-based labs volunteered at the Café, bringing Chemistry and the CCHF to hundreds in metropolitan Atlanta.

Science Café Schedule:

What’s Cool about Chemistry – Intro to the Science Cafe = Tracy McGill, PhD

“It’s Not Easy Being Green – The Chemistry of Frogs” (talk) = Dan Morton, PhD

It’s Not Magic…It’s Chemistry (demo) = Spelman Chemistry Club

Playing with Fire: Creating Colored Flames (demo) = Pi Alpha (Emory)

Fantastic Plastics (talk) = Seth Marder, PhD

Chemical Chaos! (demo) = ChEmory

Chemistry Meets Biology (talk) = Cora MacBeth

“Team Chemistry” Panel = Multiple Chemists

A record 17,000 people attended the Exploration Expo in Centennial Olympic Park, downtown Atlanta (3/28). Over 120 exhibitors & performers and 150 volunteers participated in the event.

“The quality of audience participation was inspiring. There were so many great questions from the audience that highlighted amazing intellectual curiosity about the atoms and molecules that make up the world around us."" -Dr. Tracy McGill, CCHF Outreach