East Central Illinois Local Section

Join us for a Networking Cookout The East Central Illinois local section of the American Chemical Society is hosting a spring cookout at the Hessel Park Pavilion in Champaign, IL on Sunday May 6th from 1-4pm.  This will be a great opportunity for science enthusiasts, students, professionals, academics, and their families to meet in a relaxed atmosphere and recognize winners of various local chemistry awards.  Please join us for an afternoon of food, games, networking, and celebrating chemistry! ACS membership not required. Please RSVP Here ACS Chemistry Cookout!  ... View more

The ECI local section, WCC, and YCC will be hosting events through out the week of October 22nd-28th.  A summary of the events can be found below: Pumpkin Carving: Monday, October 23 at 6 PM - 7 PM at the CLSL-A Atrium The YCC and WCC invite you to join us for the Annual Pumpkin Carving event hosted in the CLSL-A Atrium. All students, faculty, staff, and their families and friends are welcome. The event is free and light snacks will be provided. We have limited painting and carving supplies so please bring your own tools if you have any. Please RSVP at https://goo.gl/forms/NcrC2VJr21vTeRut1 RSVP is required to get a pumpkin. Program-in-a-Box Tuesday, October 24 at 6 PM - 7:30 PM at Pizza M Join the Younger Chemists Committee at Pizza-M for this fall's Program-in-a-Box: Chemistry Rocks! In addition to learning a bit about geochemistry with fellow science lovers, there will be free pizza provided. All are welcome! Chemistry Rocks! Demonstrations and Invited Lecture October 27th at 3:30 PM - 5:30 PM at the Urbana Free Library The East Central Illinois Section of the American Chemical Society invites you to participate in a National Chemistry Week (NCW) celebration from 3:30-5:30 PM on Friday, October 27th at the Urbana Free Library! These hands-on activities feature geochemistry demonstrations led by our volunteers. After the demonstrations, stick around for an educational talk about how biology and chemistry interact with geology by our invited speaker Bruce Fouke. This event is appropriate for grades K-12 (and those young at heart). Demonstrations will be from 3:30pm-4:30pm and Bruce's talk will start at 4:30pm. ... View more

The East Central Illinois Section of the American Chemical Society invites you to participate in a National Chemistry Week (NCW) celebration from 3:30-5:30 PM on Friday, October 27th at the Urbana Free Library! NCW encourages chemists and chemistry enthusiasts to build awareness of chemistry at the local level. Local businesses, schools, and individuals are invited to participate in our events with a common goal: to promote the value of chemistry in everyday life. The NCW 2017 theme is "Chemistry Rocks!", exploring the chemistry of rocks and minerals. The hands-on activities will feature geochemistry demonstrations led by our volunteers. After the demonstrations, stick around for an educational talk about how biology and chemistry interact with geology by our invited speaker Bruce Fouke. This event is appropriate for grades K-12 (and those young at heart). Demonstrations will be from 3:30pm-4:30pm and Bruce's talk will start at 4:30pm. ... View more

For the past thirteen years, the Illinois Sections of the ACS have sponsored and run a science tent in the Conservation World section of the Illinois State Fair.  This year, the tent is scheduled to be open from August 10 through the 19th at the Illinois State Fairgrounds 801 Sangamon Avenue Springfield, IL 62706. Volunteers are still needed for the event, specifically for especially the 2nd shift (12:30pm to 4pm) of Thu-Sat (8/17-8/19) and take down of the tent on the 19th at 7pm.  If you would like to volunteer for this please sign up here ​or email me directly​. We have some funds available for travel reimbursement, so please email me if you intend to go and volunteer, we can reimburse you for gas.  If anyone would like a ride to the fair, I will leave at 10am on Saturday the 19th, just email me.  In the past volunteers have been able to gain entrance to the fair for free. There will also be free pizza for all volunteers. Further information about the tent can be found below: The tent is an outreach of the Illinois Local Sections developed to enhance the public’s awareness of the contributions of chemistry to our everyday lives and the nation’s economy. This will be our 14 th year hosting this activity. We provide information to the public on science by way of science demonstrations, hands-on activities, information for teachers (including a CD with over 200 chemistry experiments), and literature and give-aways for the public. This annual event allows children of all ages to have fun learning about chemistry. Last year, we had over 10,000 visitors to our tent including many who join us every year. In the past, your Section has provided funding and volunteers to make this all possible. We need your help again to be one of our sponsors of this valuable outreach activity promoting the positive aspects of chemistry. We impact a large number of visitors ranging from young children to adults, representing a wide range of education and occupations, and allowing Illinois chemists to communicate the value and fun of chemistry.  The funds that we raise are used to help offset the cost of demo and hands-on supplies, rental equipment, our space, and give-aways. Any monetary amount is welcome, suggested levels are from $100 and up. Checks can be made payable to the Chicago Section American Chemical Society State Fair Account. As in the past, we will promote your Section’s name as a sponsor at the front of the tent as well as on our State Fair website and the informational CD distributed to over 300 Illinois school teachers that visit the tent annually. Also, you will be able to include this activity in your annual report to National. Our State Fair website is at: http://www.acsillinoisstatefair.org. ... View more

Earth Day is Saturday April 22 and the 2017 theme is "Chemistry Helps Feed the World," exploring the role of chemistry in agriculture and its impact on the planet. Our goal this week is to build awareness of chemistry at the local level and to bring international focus to environmental causes, such as clean air, water, and energy.  We would also like to highlight some other local earth day events listed below: March for Science: Champaign-Urbana April 22nd 5-7pm at Orpheum Children’s Science Museum The American Chemical Society (ACS) announces its support of the March for Science to be held on Earth Day, April 22. The March, which coincides with the annual ACS event called Chemists Celebrate Earth Day (CCED), aligns with the Society’s key goal of fostering understanding and appreciation of science by the public, the media, and policymakers. The official ACS statement can be found here March for Science Statement - American Chemical Society. A lot of ECI, WCC, YCC, Student Chapter members will be attending the local march at the  Orpheum Children's Science Museum. Please feel free to join us! “License to Farm” Film Screening and Panel Discussion April 26th 7-9pm at Big Grove Tavern The ECI local section of the American Chemical Society will be presenting a screening of the "License to Farm". A panelist discussion will follow the film in which the audience will have a chance to ask questions about the film, GMOs, and how farmers and scientists can better inform consumers.  Please feel free to bring a friend.  Food will be provided. Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms April 29th 3-5pm at The Bread Company Hosted by the Younger Chemists Committee Your East Central Illinois(ECI) section of the Younger Chemist Committee(YCC) of the American Chemical Society invites you to join us for a panel discussion on genetically modified organisms. Our panelist will be sharing their perspectives on the topic and answering questions from the audience. Confirmed Panelist Include: Dr. Stephen Moose | UIUC Professor Department of Crop Science, Sarah Buckman | Outreach Coordinator Common Ground Food Co-op ... View more