Secondary School Feature Articles

Students as Solids, Liquids, and Gases by Ponnadurai Ramasami, p 485.

Crystals Out of "Thin Air" by John J. Vollmer, p 486.

JCE Classroom Activity: #26. Out of "Thin Air": Exploring Phase Changes by John J. Vollmer, p 488A.

Philosophy of Chemistry--A New Interdisciplinary Field? by Eric R. Scerri, p 522.

JCE HS CLIC--check it out!---> http://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/HS/

Don't Let the JCE Classroom Activity Well Go Dry

The 26th installment in the popular JCE Classroom Activity series appears in this issue. Ideas for the classroom activities come from a variety of sources, but the testing, writing, and editing of the activities has been done by JCE staff members Nancy Gettys and Erica Jacobsen--in addition to their normal responsibilities. Feedback we have received from our readership indicates that a tremendous debt of gratitude is owed Nancy and Erica, both of whom have experience as high school teachers, because the activities have been repeatedly used in classrooms, laboratories, and outreach programs across the country.

But the well of ideas for Classroom Activities is about to run dry so we need your participation. Have you conducted an activity in your classroom that would be appropriate for a JCE Classroom Activity Sheet? Have you added your own twist to a previous Classroom Activity? Do you have ideas for projects or topics to be covered? A variety of submission options are available to you. For instructions on submitting a complete activity, visit our Web site, http://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/Journal/Authors/Activity/submit.html. If everything necessary for the activity is included in the submission, you will receive a byline as the activity's author.

Another option is to submit an activity handout that you give your students, along with your instructor notes. If it is selected as a Classroom Activity, Nancy and Erica will test and develop it for publication and your role as contributor of the idea will be acknowledged. Be sure to indicate clearly that the submission is intended for JCE Classroom Activities.

Even if you do not have an activity to submit, send us suggestions for topics or ideas you would like to see in print. Forward your ideas to us by email at jceonline@chem.wisc.edu (please put "Classroom Activity" in the subject field) or by mail to Journal of Chemical Education, 209 N. Brooks Street, Madison, WI 53715-1116. JCE Classroom Activity Sheets will be on vacation during the June-August 2000 issues. We want to come back strong with the September issue, and kick off your school year with a host of innovative ideas and activities to use in your classrooms. So start reviewing your classroom materials, and submit an activity or idea today
before you forget.

An April Fool Dividend

A chemistry game, two chemical word searches, and a Sherlock Holmes mystery solved using chemistry are among several articles in this issue that can be used to make aspects of chemistry learning more interesting and relevant to students. The articles most likely to be useful for high school teachers may be found on pages 459 through 485. Some of these were written with college teachers in mind, but I believe many high school readers will find them of interest.

CLIC Now Available on Your Computer Screen

JCE HS CLIC is the acronym for JCE High School Chemed Learning Information Center. The information center is online at http://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/HS/. But wait! Before you lay down this issue and reach for your mouse, turn to page 536 and read about what you will find at CLIC and how to gain access to resources that interest you. Plus, learn how you can contribute suggestions for making CLIC even more useful. We want CLIC to become your starting point on the Web when you are looking for chemistry teaching and learning resources.

CLIC can be accessed from the JCE Online home page, http://jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/, which is probably bookmarked on your computer. If it's not, do so today because you will be making many visits to this site. CLIC is another innovation JCE has developed to tailor our offerings to the needs of today's high school teachers. Once you have visited the site, tell us what you think. CLIC is for you. If you have comments or suggestions of how we can make the site better, please contact us at jceonline@chem.wisc.edu and put CLIC in the subject field. Surf's up--see you at CLIC.

Long, Cold Winter?
Celebrate Early Spring in Orlando

The National Science Teachers Association 2000 Convention will be held in Orlando, Florida, April 6-9. The convention theme is "Launching Science into the New Millennium". While you are there, be sure to visit the JCE booth, #530, to talk with feature editors, examine print and electronic media resources you can use in your classroom, and view some experiments from among the JCE Classroom Activity Sheets. Exposition hours are 2-5 p.m. on Thursday, April 6; 9 a.m.-5 p.m., April 7 and 8; and 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Sunday, April 9. We look forward to seeing you there. Information about the NSTA 2000 convention can be found online: http://www.nsta.org/conv/natgen.asp.