News & Events

UR Chemistry volunteers at Horizons!

During the summer of 2018, several graduate students from the Chemistry Department participated as volunteers for the annual Horizons at Warner Summer Program. The Horizons Program is a high quality academic enrichment program for low-income K – 8^th grade students from the Rochester City School District that takes place each summer on the University of Rochester Campus. The students experience a non-traditional school setting on our university campus for six weeks. A notable approach of the Horizons program is that it provides opportunities for blending academics with arts, sports, cultural enrichment, field trips, and confidence-building activities.

Twice each week for the duration of the program, the Horizons students attended chemistry workshops designed by our chemistry department volunteers. Organized by graduate student Lauren VanGelder, volunteers designed interactive workshops which included demonstrations and classroom learning, as well as hands on experiments in our UR chemistry labs. Workshop themes covered all areas of chemistry, ranging from acid-base chemistry, to the chemistry of colors, to even a CSI-chemistry themed mystery!

In Summer 2018 the Horizons chemistry workshops had a record breaking number of volunteers, all of whom had a great time gaining teaching experience and giving back to the Rochester community. Special thanks to the Chemistry Department, Ken Simolo, Randi Shaw, and Elly York for providing lab coats and safety glasses to the students!