Chemistry and Health Science Projects for National Chemistry Week

Chemistry projects and resources for National Chemistry Week 2023!

National Chemistry Week is October 15-21, 2023! The theme of this year's chemistry awareness week, hosted by the American Chemical Society (ACS), is "The Healing Power of Chemistry."

Chemistry, Health, and Medicine

Exploring the role of chemistry in keeping people (and animals) well and in developing medicines and vaccines to treat illnesses and health conditions can lead to exciting student science projects with real-world impact. Students can experiment with health-focused science projects like these:

• Ow, My Tummy Hurts! The Biology and Chemistry of Gas Relief: Do an experiment with soap, water, and simethicone to see how this drug helps release gas trapped in the digestive system.
• Sucrose & Glucose & Fructose, Oh My! Uncovering Hidden Sugar in Your Food: Investigate how an enzyme converts sucrose into glucose.
• Why Aren't All Medicines Pills?: Investigate why some medications are available in pill format and others, like insulin, are not. What does the digestion process have to do with what format a medicine can take?
• How Antacids Relieve Heartburn: Model stomach acid and experiment to see how antacids work to increase the pH.
• Delayed Release Pill Challenge: Getting Medicine to the Right Place at the Right Time: Explore the kinds of coatings (encapsulation polymers) used in making pills and design a tablet that releases active ingredients at different times.

Chemistry Projects for Students

Students choosing independent science projects (or science fair projects) may also be interested in chemistry projects like these:

Elementary School

• Bath Bomb Science
• Cabbage Chemistry
• Explore the Mixing Behavior of Liquids
• Keep Your Candy Cool With the Power of Evaporation!

Middle School

• Big Pieces or Small Pieces: Which React Faster?
• Cold Pack Chemistry: Where Does the Heat Go?
• Create and Test Your Own Hydrogel Face Mask Recipe!
• Crime Scene Chemistry: Determine the Identity of an Unknown Chemical Substance
• Which Filtration Material Leads to the Best Drinking Water?

High School

• Crime Scene Chemistry—The Cool Blue Light of Luminol
• Crime Scene Chemistry: The Kastle-Meyer Test for Blood
• Electrolyte Challenge: Orange Juice Vs. Sports Drink
• Excess Volume: Investigate the "Shrinking Liquids" Effect
• How Blue is Your Sports Drink?
• Which Orange Juice Has the Most Vitamin C?
• Yeast Busters: Stopping Fungus in its Tracks with Antifungal Medicines
• Which Orange Juice Has the Most Vitamin C?

For other projects related to health and medicine, browse projects that align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs): #3 Health and Well-Being.

(For more information about how projects are labeled, see Understanding Project "Difficulty").

Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsDQWPpTzZM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2OZssB_W7M

Green Chemistry

Use the resources below to learn more about how green chemistry reimagines chemical processes in ways that are environmentally aware, produce less hazardous waste, reduce pollution, and result in cleaner air and water and safer foods and products for everyone.

• Green Chemistry and the School Science Lab - Safer Chemistry for Today and Tomorrow: Lessons to help you explore the 12 principles of green chemistry with students.
• New Green Chemistry Science Projects—Sustainable Science for Students: Projects for students, including fabric made from seaweed or kombucha and experiments related to sunscreen and detergent.
• Browse all Green Chemistry student projects
• Browse all Green Chemistry lesson plans

Support for the development of resources to enable exploration of green chemistry by K-12 students and teachers has been generously provided by Millipore Sigma.

Additional K-12 Chemistry Resources

• Teach Chemical Reactions - 20+ Chemistry Lessons and Activities: More than 20 video lessons, lesson plans, activities, and experiments for exploring what happens when you combine reactants.
• 13 Lessons to Teach About the Chemistry of Mixtures and Solutions: Not all substances form a chemical reaction when combined. Some form a mixture. Resources in this collection help students learn about homogeneous and heterogeneous mixtures.
• How to Make Solutions for Chemistry and Biology Experiments
• How to Make Dilutions and Serial Dilutions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJmIJ951p1o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzFERPJeeTM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmeCY7ANrog

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