The consensus among the participants was that science is best learned by doing science and that cost-effective equipment and materials will help bring hands-on science into the reach of all students. This directly contradicts a recent report from the World Bank that implies that hands-on science is not necessary in science education. Participants demonstrated and shared a wide range of apparatus and materials such as a colorimeter constructed from PVC pipe, microscale gas sensors, LED conductivity testers, and calculator-based laboratory probes. Conference activities included construction of instruments and the refining and developing of lab experiments by participants. Several Madison-area high school chemistry students tested and evaluated some of the instruments and experiments.

The conferees recognized that cost is a deterrent to giving students hands-on laboratory experiences in many schools in all parts of the world. Once developed, cost-effective equipment and readily available materials, linked to teacher training, will result in more opportunities for students to learn science by doing science.

Conference participants were chosen not only because of their contributions to low-cost instrumentation or microscale chemistry, but also for their experiences in teacher training at some level. While the conferees share the belief that teacher training should model the techniques that teachers will use in their own classrooms, science teacher training varies in different parts of the world according to different needs and circumstances. For example, the participants from India, under the direction of Krishna Sane, have developed a program in which teachers and teacher trainers construct the mV/pH meters that they will use so that the instruments will not be black boxes. They also train teachers to write computer programs that simulate pH, conductivity, and colorimetry activities.

Due to lack of funding for science education, Mahmoud El-Marsafy, of Cairo, has prospective chemistry teachers obtain low-cost equipment locally. Examples are slow cooker heating plates and recycled vials. He provides the reagents, and teacher trainees are responsible for doing many of the experiments at home.

Shane Durbach conducts many workshops for chemistry teachers in South Africa using prefabricated, commercially available microscale kits. Driven by the changing political climate in South Africa, these kits and accompanying experiments were developed though a government-funded project.

During a 15-year period in which he conducted workshops for science teachers in Kenya, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe, Peter Towse used syringes as substitutes for conventional apparatus. He was working on a shoestring budget, often in classrooms without a roof or running water. Along with experiments utilizing syringes, he modified ordinary classroom desks into lab stations. In order to duplicate written materials, a very simple gelatin duplicator system was used. Back in the United Kingdom, Towse continued to use syringes as alternatives to traditional lab equipment, developing additional experiments for use in teacher training programs and workshops there.

Representatives from the United States brought a wide range of apparatus and materials. Ajay Bose, Stevens Institute of Technology, has developed techniques for using a conventional microwave oven in a variety of experiments, such as synthesizing aspirin in 90 seconds. Edward Vitz, Kutztown University, interfaced an easily constructed photometer and chemical sensors to a computer using Limsport computer software he developed. A ball viscometer was presented by Arnold Taylor, Dupont-Conoco, Oklahoma. This apparatus was devised from a graduated glass pipet and a ball bearing.

Galen Carlile, Neah-Kah-Nie Jr./Sr. High School, brought a microscale cell plate heater. John Varine, Kiski Area High School, shared two conductivity testers. A solar cell interfaced to an audio speaker was presented by James Gibson, Piscataquis High School. The numerous other innovative equipment and materials brought to the conference will be described in a proceedings document, to be published by the Institute for Chemical Education which will include:

· Philosophy and rationale

· Information and specifications for constructing the various apparatus and instruments

· Experiments developed for use with the apparatus, instruments, and materials

A sourcebook of laboratory experiments and other inquiry activities will be made available separately. These activities will feature microscale equipment, low-cost instruments, and readily available reagents. These activities will be appropriate for teacher training programs and workshops as well as for use by students.

The conference proceedings will be further disseminated through workshops and national meetings conducted by individual conferees. Conferees plan to present a workshop at the 1998 International Conference on Chemical Education in Cairo. Sylvia Ware, Director of the Education Division, American Chemical Society, suggested that a satellite teleconference with five nodes in various countries was another possible mode of dissemination. Articles will be submitted to international journals such as Science Education International. Recognizing that it will soon be available in all countries, dissemination via the Internet is being explored. The International Cost-Effective, Hands-on Chemistry Education Conference participants have made a commitment to disseminate the philosophy and materials developed throughout the world in an effort to change how chemistry is being taught.

The conference was conceived by John Moore, Ron Perkins, and Krishna Sane, stemming from the 13th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education held at Bucknell University in 1994. Funded by NSF, UNESCO, ICE, and the ACS Society Committee on Education, with assistance from the University of Wisconsin Graduate School, the conference was organized by John Moore, Institute of Chemical Education director. David Shaw, a Fellow with the New Traditions Curriculum Project, coordinated the conference; Amy Huseth, ICE Outreach Specialist, arranged international travel, lodging, and logistics.