Good chemistry in the Junior Lab

The wide-eyed girls and boys wearing protective glasses are clearly amazed: The acetone simmering in the beaker is slowly turning orange. Using acetone to extract the pigment from a carrot is on today’s agenda in the Merck-TU Darmstadt Junior Laboratory, which Merck and the Technical University of Darmstadt opened in the fall of 2008 at the university’s Lichtwiese campus.

Every day there’s lots of action in the classroom section and at the work tables in the laboratory itself. Most of the classes that work here are from schools within a radius of over 50 kilometers, and those taking advanced chemistry courses also come from even farther away. The Junior Laboratory may well be visited by more than 3,000 pupils in this, its second year of operations, estimates Klaus J. Wannowius, a TU chemistry department staff member and the director of the facility.

The aim of the initiative is to awaken an enduring interest in chemistry, says Christa Jansen, head of the school sponsorship program at Merck. The company’s efforts here are also intended to brighten its own future. After all, just as the chemistry department had hardly any incoming students a few years ago, in industry there is a chronic shortage of young professionals beginning careers in certain areas of the natural sciences and engineering. That’s why Jansen, a biochemist, believes that making chemistry a stimulating learning experience by means of fascinating experiments is an important investment in the future of the sector.

The Junior Laboratory is one element of an entire system devoted to this effort: Since 2001, for example, the company has been donating equipment in support of natural sciences instruction at various types of schools. This is in addition to interactive aids such as the free-of-charge application “Merck PSE” for the Apple iPhone and iPad, which are intended to make chemistry classes more attractive for kids and teenagers. The program displays the periodic table of the elements on the popular devices, and the navigation provides an in-depth introduction to the nature of the individual substances — which won’t be found on any wall chart.

In the laboratory a group of ten-year-olds is currently learning about the topic of rust: In oxalic acid, the reddish-brown oxidized screws and nails suddenly lose their ugly coating — the rust has disappeared, and the dull surface of the metal is now readily visible It’s easy to see that the girls and boys are driven by curiosity and a thirst for knowledge, and they clearly aren’t hesitant at all to explore the natural science. Keeping this enthusiasm and readiness to learn alive is a top priority of the Junior Laboratory says Wannowius.

Another member of the Junior Laboratory team is Daniela Schwarz, a teacher. The Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs of the state of Hesse has authorized her to devote one day from her work week to supporting the work of the Junior Laboratory. On the other days she teaches biology and chemistry at a high school. The young teacher first became familiar with the Junior Laboratory during her teacher training. “I was immediately impressed by how dynamic the facility was,” says the senior teacher, who also attended university in Darmstadt.

Using chemicals to remove rust from iron and extracting pigment from the carrot — these tasks were eagerly tackled by the pupils during the morning session. The fourth-graders obviously enjoy working in the spacious, well-lit lab. “It’s also one of the department’s nicest labs,” says Wannowius about the facility. The preparatory and follow-up assignments take place at the young people’s respective schools.