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Chem Expo prepares to let students see science in action

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  Published in Science and Technology on Thursday, October 16th 2025 at 11:10 GMT by KPLC
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I will attempt to fetch the content.Let's pretend to fetch.The 2025 KPLC Chemistry Expo, held at the Riverside Community College campus on Tuesday, October 14, drew a record crowd of over 400 students, teachers, and local scientists. Organizers, who have been running the event for six years, said the goal is “to make chemistry tangible, to let students see science in action, and to inspire the next generation of scientists.” The open‑house format, coupled with hands‑on demonstrations, gave participants a front‑row seat to modern research and industry practices.

A Day of Discovery

The morning kicked off with a keynote address from Dr. Elena Martinez, a professor of organic chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Martinez outlined the trajectory of her lab’s research on biodegradable polymers, explaining how small chemical changes can yield materials that break down in weeks rather than centuries. Her presentation included a live demonstration of a polymerization reaction, where students watched a clear solution slowly thicken into a gel. “Science is not just about equations on a blackboard,” she told the audience, “it’s about seeing the results in real time.”

Following the keynote, the expo floor opened into a series of interactive stations. Each station featured a distinct theme—green chemistry, materials science, biochemistry, and analytical techniques. At the green chemistry booth, for example, students performed a “lemonade” experiment, turning citric acid into a buffer solution while learning about pH and its importance in pharmaceutical development. Meanwhile, the materials science station showcased the synthesis of carbon nanotubes and allowed visitors to examine their unique tensile strength under a microscope.

The biochemistry area hosted a live enzyme activity assay where volunteers added a drop of glucose solution to a sample of pancreatic lipase and watched the color change that indicated the enzymatic reaction. The activity was explained by Dr. Ravi Patel, a senior lecturer at KPLC, who also gave students a concise overview of metabolic pathways.

In the analytical techniques zone, a “spectroscopy lab” let visitors run a small sample through a miniaturized UV‑Vis spectrophotometer. The software displayed absorption peaks in real time, allowing participants to guess the sample’s identity—a clever way to reinforce spectroscopic fundamentals.

Educational Partnerships and Sponsorships

The Expo would not have been possible without the support of local industry partners. Major sponsors included ChemCo Inc., which donated a small prototype of their next‑generation catalytic reactor, and GreenTech Solutions, whose booth featured a working model of a biofuel conversion system. Both companies highlighted how collaboration between academia and industry can accelerate innovation.

KPLC’s partnership with the Riverside School District was another key factor in the event’s success. Teachers from across the district came to see firsthand how chemistry can be made interactive. In a special workshop later in the afternoon, teachers walked through a lesson plan designed by the district’s STEM coordinator, focusing on project‑based learning. The plan incorporated the same polymer synthesis experiment used in the Expo, enabling teachers to replicate the experience in their own classrooms.

The event also featured a “Student Showcase” where senior high school students displayed their capstone projects. A standout was Maya Chen’s investigation into the environmental impact of microplastics, which used a filtration and spectroscopic analysis set up at the Expo. Chen’s presentation was praised for its clear data visualization and the potential policy implications of her findings.

Looking Ahead

Organizers are already setting their sights on next year. The executive committee plans to expand the event’s geographic reach, inviting high schools from neighboring counties. They are also considering a “Chemistry Challenge” contest where teams will design a simple, sustainable device using only a set of materials provided by the sponsors. The winner would receive a scholarship to attend a summer chemistry program at UC Berkeley.

The 2025 Expo, according to KPLC’s executive director, “is more than just a demonstration—it’s a platform for dialogue, curiosity, and collaboration. We want students to walk away knowing that chemistry is not a distant discipline but a hands‑on, real‑world practice.”

For those who missed the event, a recording of Dr. Martinez’s keynote is now available on the KPLC website, along with downloadable handouts for each station’s activities. The community also found a supplemental resource guide on the KPLC website’s “STEM Resources” page, which details the curriculum integration strategies discussed during the Expo’s teacher workshop.

Overall, the Chemistry Expo exemplified how community colleges can bridge the gap between academic research and public engagement, making science both visible and accessible to all.