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The Chemistry Teaching Laboratory (CTL).
La
b in a van:
The Chemystery Machine
construction work associated with the new Life and
Mind Building provided an opportunity to expand our
portfolio of outreach activities based in schools and
in order to facilitate the programme, the Department
has recently taken delivery of a large van, which has
already proved invaluable with local visits to schools.
The van has six seats and a generous cargo area so can
transport the whole team and all of the chemicals and
equipment needed.
A variety of portable workshops and two new lecture-
The new van outside the teaching labs. demonstrations which highlight Oxford Chemistry
research have been developed that are safe for use
Jennie Botham, CTL Lab Technician, writes about in a school environment and age appropriate. The
an exciting new resource allowing us to take the equipment for the activities is packed into boxes that
joys of chemistry to more and more young people. are easily transportable and quickly replenished when
back at the department. Supported by department
Thousands of young people from around the UK and staff, trained ambassadors deliver the activities,
abroad visit the Department of Chemistry each year. developing their own communication and presentation
Many take part in practical workshops in the new skills, in line with the Vitae Researcher Development
Chemistry Teaching Laboratory (CTL) working with Framework.
Department staff and our ambassadors, who are
drawn mainly from our undergraduate and graduate Covid-19 has interrupted the planned delivery of
community. Additionally, outreach teams go out face-to-face workshops and lectures further afield,
to schools to deliver practical workshops, lecture- but we hope to be back on the road as soon as it
demonstrations and academic and career talks. is safe and prudent so to do. In the meantime, the
The purpose of our outreach work is to inspire young team have been developing workshops and talks for
people, their parents, guardians and teachers about online delivery. This included a new Chiral Chemistry
the role of chemistry in their lives and in society, resource which brings in the main protease of SARS-
increasing the understanding of chemistry as a vibrant, CoV-2, an area of active research in the department.
relevant and ‘living’ science. We aim to encourage Additionally, our UNIQ programme moved online, with
young people to aspire to study chemistry post-18, a whole array of video lectures, live panels, interactive
and, by working to support young people, the teaching seminars, workshops and a new kitchen chemistry
staff and technicians who work with them, help practical looking at turmeric as both indicator and dye.
them to attain the qualifications required to open up Whilst the online resources have been welcomed by
opportunities in the chemical sciences. school students and teachers, we are looking forward
to the return to in-person events as soon as possible.
Our ability to visit schools has, until now, been limited The work of the outreach team is generously
by the expense of hiring taxis or vans and this has, by supported by the Department as well as through
necessity, limited the distance the teams are able to alumni donations and sponsorship.
travel. A planned period of closure of the CTL due to
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Periodic The Magazine of the Department of Chemistry
for school students from primary to secondary and
their teachers. This monthly online Q&A is designed
to complement the recent RSC careers campaign
‘Chemistry: Making the Difference.’ We are keen to
hear from all those who have been connected with
Oxford Chemistry and who would be prepared to
take questions about their careers. Please contact
outreach@chem.ox.ac.uk if you would like to be
involved.
Award for practical chemistry course
The Chemistry Teaching Laboratory team have been Supporting students
awarded one of the inaugural Vice-Chancellor’s for 40 years
Education Awards, recognising new and innovative
approaches to teaching within the University. The In July, Lab Technician Jennie
prize was awarded for the design and implementation Botham celebrated 40 years in
of an integrated practical course. the Department of Chemistry.
Jennie started work in the ICL
For many years the undergraduate inorganic, organic, teaching labs in 1980, soon after
and physical lab work took place in separate buildings. she finished her A levels. Jennie
In designing a new course the team focused on says: “I chose to study chemistry
interdisciplinary approaches to solving problems, because I enjoyed it at school. I
drawing techniques from the whole discipline of had a very good teacher who Jennie Botham,
chemistry as well as biochemistry and physics. The made it fun and I seemed to be BSc (Hons), RSciTech.
purpose-built Chemistry Teaching Laboratory, opened able to understand it fairly easily. I chose to become a
in October 2018, facilitates this novel approach to lab technician because it seemed like an interesting job
teaching practical chemistry.
when I finished school. I started straight after A levels
as a trainee and I was able to learn on the job doing
Inspiring the next generation day release to college.”
Chemistry has never been more relevant to our lives, Jennie studied alongside her work to obtain her
yet school students can struggle to look beyond the degree in chemistry, and became a Registered Science
list of facts and the (usually dead) scientists portrayed Technician through the Royal Society of Chemistry.
in their textbooks. A new strand in our outreach Over the past 40 years thousands of students have
work has been the development of a series of career benefited from her guidance and expertise.
and research talks given by our wonderful DPhil Now working in the CTL, Jennie spends most of
ambassadors. Through sharing their own personal her time supporting the undergraduates, providing
stories of study and academic ambition, as well as chemicals, troubleshooting equipment and explaining
explaining their research and its relevance, they have unfamiliar techniques. In the vacations she tries out
been changing the perception of the chemical sciences new practical experiments, stock takes, and orders
and Oxford Chemistry. School groups have the consumable items.
opportunity to ask questions about further study, and
the underlying chemistry and research. Jennie says: “The most exciting thing about my work
With the move to online outreach delivery, these talks is seeing how the undergraduates develop. They start
are being recorded and are being offered as a super- off very unsure about their practical work and it is
curricular series for post-16 state school pupils, great to see them become more confident. When
entitled Ask a Research Chemist. they go on to become researchers and academics it is
very satisfying to think that I may have played a part
Conscious that attitudes to science and chemistry in encouraging them to do the best they can.”
form early on in a young person’s school career, the
department is also delivering an Ask a Chemist series
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The Magazine of the Department of Chemistry Periodic