National Chemistry Week 2008 focuses on fun with sports

From sandy baseball fields in Los Angeles to blacktop basketball courts in New York City, this year's National Chemistry Week (NCW) –– Oct. 19-25 –– will draw upon young people's love for sports and show them how chemistry plays a big part in all kinds of games. The theme of NCW 2008 is Having a Ball with Chemistry.

The American Chemical Society (ACS), the sponsor of NCW, will work with other organizations to explain how the materials, design and safety improvements in sports/sporting equipment are made possible through chemistry. They also will explain how drinking enough liquids and eating right is important for athletes.

Among the week's nationwide activities will be:

A K-12 poster contest focused on chemistry and sports, emphasizing chemical principles or concepts in different sports and sporting equipment.
ACS Local Sections will sponsor sports-related Chemistry Olympics, featuring hands-on activities
A special community event –– collecting sports equipment in conjunction with "Chemistry and Sports Day" partnerships with local sporting organizations and gyms. What is the purpose of this?
ACS Student Affiliates will coordinate an NCW Chemvention contest for undergraduate Student Affiliates chapters. Students are asked to create activities for next year's NCW program, with the theme, "Chemistry—It's Elemental!"

###

For full information about NCW, including contest rules and deadlines, go to: www.acs.org/ncw, and for other activities for kids click here.

The American Chemical Society — the world's largest scientific society — is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.