Chemistry in the Public Library: A Long-Standing, Valuable Community Partnership

Abstract

“Chemistry in the Public Library” is an outreach event that has fostered a continuing, long-standing partnership between The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington (a public, liberal arts college), the Olympia Timberland Regional Library (the local public library), and the community. It started as a National Chemistry Week event 15 years ago with the goal of providing equitable access to hands-on chemistry activities to schoolchildren and their families and has continued since then. The events were free of charge and registration was not required. Six to eight different hands-on science activities were prepared and presented at each event. Copies of publications, particularly those of the American Chemical Society, such as Celebrating Chemistry and the ChemMatters magazines were made available at no cost to the participants. They were popular, especially with parents of homeschooled children, who were keen to find resources that enhance their children’s exposure to the sciences. On average about 60 participants attended the event each year with the number increasing to about one hundred in some years. Undergraduate science students from The Evergreen State College served as volunteers for this event. They were trained to help participants conduct the activities and to explain the science behind each activity at a level that was accessible to the participants. Among other benefits described in the article, the volunteers developed leadership skills and built comradery, which carried over to their classrooms and personal college experiences. The advertisement of the Chemistry in the Public Library event, funding sources, the mostly commonly conducted activities, selection of activities to fit a particular theme each year, and the constraints when planning the activities are discussed in detail in the article. The impact of Chemistry in the Public Library event on all stakeholders that included participants, volunteers, The Evergreen State College, and the Olympia Timberland Regional library are also presented. The importance of bringing science to the community at a location that is easily accessible to them (the public library), which has shown to provide equitable and inclusive access to science for the community, is highlighted.