About Tested Demonstrations

Editor
Ed Vitz
Kutztown University
Kutztown, PA 19530

The Tested Demonstrations column aims to help teachers at all levels to make effective use of demonstrations.

Mission Statement
Demonstrations are critical for conveying the meaning of science. Demonstrations make science much more exciting to students at all levels and they attract scientific minds to chemistry. It is a happy coincidence that demonstrations are also fun to do, and we look forward to hearing from all teachers who discover effective ways to demonstrate the excitement of chemistry.

The Tested Demonstrations column aims to help teachers at all levels to make effective use of demonstrations by providing (i) complete, accurate instructions, (ii) a list of convenient sources for all equipment and supplies, (iii) brief explanations of the chemistry involved, and (iv) a description of how a demonstration has proven useful in teaching. To expand the traditional purview of demonstrations we actively seek demonstrations in biochemistry, instrumental analysis, environmental chemistry, materials science, food and textile chemistry, and other areas of applied chemistry.

Tested Demonstrations should be live. Educators argue forcibly against replacing educational laboratory experiences with "dry" labs, and Tested Demonstrations will continue to focus on live, not "dry", demonstrations. Computer simulations, videos, and other forms of multimedia demonstrations, which provide a useful supplement to the real thing, should be submitted to the Computer Bulletin Board, JCE Software, or Teaching with Technology.

Instructions for Submitting Demonstrations
Submitted manuscripts should be complete, so that no other information is necessary for a teacher to present the demonstration. The demonstrations will be checked to make certain that they work as described. Manuscripts should include references that lead the interested reader to expanded treatments of the subject, and citations of previous demonstrations on the same or a closely related topic. Authors should check available compendia including those by Shakhashiri (1), Gilbert (2), and Ealy (3), other sources listed in Katz's recent bibliography (4), and the electronic index to the Journal (5). Many excellent new demonstrations are derived from classics, but reference must be made to previous work.

Literature Cited

1. Shakhashiri, B. Z. Chemical Demonstrations; University of Wisconsin: Madison, 1983-1992; Vols. 1-4.

2. Gilbert, G., et al. Tested Demonstrations in Chemistry; Dept. of Chemistry, Denison University, Granville, OH, 1994.

3. Ealy, J. B.; Ealy, J. L. Visualizing Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1995.

4. Katz, D. A. Science Demonstrations, Experiments, and Resources; J. Chem. Educ. 1991, 68, 235-244.

5. Schatz, P. F.; Jacobsen, J. J. Computerized Index, Journal of Chemical Education, JCE Software; 1993, Special issue 5-M (Macintosh) or 5-W (Windows).