Chemistry staff run a variety of engaging masterclasses and workshops, both at the Mile End campus where the Department of Chemistry is located and in schools across London and the South East.
Below is a list of chemistry outreach activities that target students of various ages.
The Chemistry Residential Summer School at Queen Mary University of London is a three-day program for Year 12 students from Schools based in the UK who have chosen to study chemistry (A level or IB) and are interested in pursuing a degree in Chemical Sciences.
The highly successful 2022 Summer School was led by Dr Giorgio Chianello and gave participants the opportunity to experience a Russell Group university and gain a real insight into studying chemistry at a research-intensive institution. The three-day residential school involved workshops, lectures, and laboratory sessions in our new £5.5 million world class teaching laboratory. Internationally leading scientists contributed to the delivery of the different activities, and there were opportunities to discuss career options and degree choices.
We are a provider of the Royal Society of Chemistry Spectroscopy in a Suitcase program. These are interactive workshops covering the theory as well as the hands on applications of IR, NMR and MS. More information is available here.
School and colleges in the East Anglia Region can send one team of three of Year 12 students to take part in this analytical chemistry-based competition. It is normally held in February each year and lasts one day. Each member of the top three teams receives prizes and the winning team may be selected to attend the National Final held in June each year at a university in the UK. Further information is available from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).
Always popular, this session includes a 2-hour theory class, with problem-solving followed by an opportunity to view demonstrations of FTIR (students get hands-on experience to run liquid and solid samples), NMR and GC-MS instrumentation. This class is intended to support and aid an understanding of spectroscopy that forms a part of the AS/A2 chemistry syllabus. Schools can also borrow the 'Spectroscopy in a Suitcase' kit from the RSC which can be used at the school.
Each year, around Easter, we host the ever-popular Salters’ Institute Chemistry Festival. Teams of four Y7/8 students compete in a number of chemical exercises for prizes and the day concludes with an exciting and explosive demonstration lecture.
This very popular practical and fun talk is aimed for students of all ages (5-18 years) but may be adapted for a non-scientific audience of any age, such as a youth club or society. This session aims to demonstrate the fun and relevance of chemistry in the modern world through a series of bright, loud and often smelly demonstrations using everyday objects and chemicals! The lecture/demonstration can be part of a ½ day visit to QMUL that includes a Campus Tour and a visit to the Department, or can be taken to the school/college.
For more information please email us on spcs-outreach@qmul.ac.uk