The Herb Bassow Demo Day, a longstanding collaboration between the Temple University Department of Chemistry and the Philadelphia Section of the American Chemical Society, offers middle and high school students the opportunity to experience what it’s like to be a scientist.

Inspired by the Royal Society of Chemistry Christmas lectures, the most recent event attracted approximately 300 students from 5 Philadelphia public and private schools, including Carver High School for Engineering and Science and St. Joseph’s Preparatory School. 

The event is co-organized by chemistry faculty members Daniele Ramella, associate professor of instruction, and Jaskiran Kaur, associate professor of instruction. Each Herb Bassow Demo Day consists of two parts, demonstrations by Temple faculty, such as making liquid nitrogen ice cream, and hands-on activities like decorating t-shirts using chromatography.

“Many schools in Philadelphia do not have access to wet labs and for many students this is their first time in a laboratory,” explained Kaur, who worked for the School District of Philadelphia before joining Temple.  “For students, the best part is the exposure to science and the overall experience. Students feel like scientists as they use PPE and handle the equipment and navigate the science labs.”

Begun as a partnership between ACS Philadelphia and several universities in the region, in recent years the Department of Chemistry has been the event’s exclusive university partner. Participation has grown from roughly 50 students to more than 300 each year.

Additional activities include marshmallow inflation, to learn about pressure and volume, and balloon on a stick, to explore polymer structure. “Students come with different levels of prior knowledge and understanding of chemistry,” said Kaur. “Some are excited to see demonstrations of the concepts they learned in their classes and others are excited to learn new concepts. There is something for everyone.”

“I love meeting the kids and their teachers,” said Ramella. “The ice cream demonstration is always a blast, but any demo in which I get to make fire and/or blow stuff up in a controlled way that is safe for the audience is awesome. And kids love that stuff!”

For 2024, Herb Bassow Demo Day is scheduled for a weekday in December.