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OK, so I was driving in a town near campus the other week and happened to see a little start up company that produces medical imaging agents (not sure if they are inorganic or not, haven't had the opportunity to check yet), but it got me thinking. It would be great to show students inorganic chemistry at work in the "real world" not only in the classroom but out there actually in the REAL WORLD. The logistics of planning a field trip are a bit of a pain... Anyway, I was wondering if anyone out there has done a successful (or unsuccessful!) field trip with their inorganic class and would like to share their experience! --Hilary
Our summer students often go on trips to local industry (Amgen, an oil refinery, etc). It is organized by a subsidiary of the dean's office (dean of faculty), so I don't know much about the logistics. Some hits, some misses. The students enjoy them if they actually get to walk through a lab and talk to people; for safety
reasons they had to stay on the bus for the refinery and that was therefore less interesting/fun for them from what I hear.
Adam
We have done a variety of field trips and tours over the years. The two best chemistry trips were to Dow's analytical facility in Midland, MI (the "1897 Building") and to Upjohn/Pfizer's analytical facility in Portage, MI, back when it existed. One of the chemists at Upjohn used our visit as an opportunity to help his young scientists practice their presentation skills. He was very supportive of them, and our students appreciated having things explained by scientists very close to their age.
We have also visited:
- the local waste water treatment plant
- the local water purification plant
- a nuclear plant
- a microbrewery
The students always appreciate the chance to get out!I've thought about field trips...but never quite gotten over the activation energy to plan them. Nor have I been willing to give up, say a lab day in exchange for the field trip.
The closest I have come is to take my inorganic classes to see exhibits of interest at the local museums. One year, there was a great exhibit on Linus Pauling at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. The students were most fascinated by seeing one of Pauling's lab notebooks! Another year, there was an exhibit on M.C. Escher at the Portland Art Museum that fit in beautifully with our discussions of symmetry.
We have talked about a field trip this summer. Our Chemglass rep suggested that we take a trip down to see how the glassware the students use is made. At the very least, they might gain some appreciation for the craftsmanship involved in making such objects (or at least make it a little more likely that they will scrub the black tar out of their round bottomed flasks!).
No time set for this yet, but it might be a neat, "out of the norm" trip.
"I love using the word 'Nitrate' as a verb! "