Chemistry department opens its doors

Tuesday 31 July 2018

Massey University's chemistry department has welcomed over 300 high school students to take part in workshops that use techniques and equipment they can no longer get in schools.

Chemistry department opens its doors - image1

Students using equipment from Massey chemistry labs.

Last updated: Monday 22 August 2022

Massey University’s chemistry department has welcomed over 300 high school students to take part in workshops that use techniques and equipment they can no longer get in schools.

While Massey students were on mid-semester break, year 13 students from around the Auckland area were welcomed onto the University’s Auckland campus for the free workshops related to their NCEA study.

Dr Marie-Anne Thelen, of the Institute of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, was the driving-force behind implementing the first workshop in 2013.

“When the NCEA level 3 Spectroscopy standard was introduced in 2013, teachers voiced their concern that it was difficult to teach this standard in context, schools could not expose students to relevant experiments with appropriate equipment. In discussion with teachers I realised that Massey could provide support to our community and set about developing a couple of workshops which would allow the students to measure spectroscopic data themselves and experience applied spectroscopy in context.

“Students get to use high tech equipment and get hands on experience,” says Dr Thelen. “The teachers are able to teach the content to the student in a context that makes it relevant. It means that the schools do not have to pay for the very expensive machines and the technical staff that are required to run these devices.”

With the support of the whole chemistry group, especially from technical staff and financial support from our institute (INMS) the workshops could be offered. In 2016 they had 150 people, last year they had 250, and this year they had over 300 students.

“I think it filled a demand and we didn’t advertise until this year,” says Dr Thelen. “The teachers spread the word, initially by word of mouth amongst their peers and then via the science teachers’ Facebook page. It started small and grew steadily year by year. And this year with the creation of a booking website and more rigid health and safety requirements limiting what schools are allowed to do in the laboratory we had over 300 high school students visiting us.”

“The word of mouth from the teachers has been marvellous, showing that they teachers really do think their students benefit from what we are doing.”

In 2016 Dr Debbie Jordan started facilitating the workshops and Dr Thelen says she brought her “enthusiasm and unique style” to the workshops.

This year the students could participate in two workshops: one allowed them to synthesise and analyse aspirin, allowing them to experience different lab techniques and gives insight into pharmaceutical development. The other will involve using spectroscopy to solve a murder in the lab, both relating to multiple achievement standards within their NCEA studies.

Dr Jordan, says that anything they can do to engage students with chemistry is worth the time.

“The students get to experience the use of the technologies and processes in a real working laboratory environment as well as have a taste of the first year university experience. It is also nice that we get to interact with the students and foster some enthusiasm for the subject while they are with us.

“We also have the opportunity to show these science enthusiastic students some ‘cool’ science experiments with the materials and facilities we, as a university, have access to that schools can’t normally source. Who doesn’t want to see an explosion or ‘play’ with liquid nitrogen and then discuss the theories they have learned in school to explain the phenomenon.”