SLO Childrens Day 2007

A group of eight Cuesta College students, all enrolled in General Chemistry courses and members of a new Science and Math Club, helped over 150 children make polymers with household ingredients at Children’s Day in the Plaza in San Luis Obispo on April 14. This community event was sponsored by the San Luis Obispo Child Abuse Prevention Council and aims to provide a host of interactive exhibits and activities for children.

Before the event, the Cuesta students met for a barbeque dinner and tried several variations of glue-based polymers, finally deciding on a cornstarch slime, gluep with glue and borax, and a third mixture that could be formed into a bouncy ball. The children that came to our booth had a great time getting sticky and feeling the various textures, and even the adults were intrigued by the dilatant properties of the cornstarch and water mixture. The visitors were allowed to take samples of all three polymers home.

This event was also a great experience for the students, as designing, preparing and explaining a science activity for non-scientists was challenging and rewarding. The students were having as much fun playing with the polymers as the kids they were helping! The Science and Math Clubat Cuesta College and Greg Baxley thank CALPSACS for their sponsorship of this activity.