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The Chemistry Teaching Laboratory (CTL).

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

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Periodic The Magazine of the Department of Chemistry The Magazine of the Department of Chemistry Periodic