from Erica Jacobsen, JCE High School Editor
The WonderLab Museum in Bloomington, IN was alive with movement and sound. Limber bodies snaked up a two-story maze called the “Grapevine Climber” to arrive triumphantly at the top. Massive soap bubbles burst, showering heads with a misty spray. Cheers and applause broke out as the centerpiece of a […]

from Laura Slocum, JCE High School Associate Editor
New has been defined in various ways—recently made, created, or invented; recently discovered or noticed; recently introduced and previously unfamiliar; at the beginning of another day, month, or year. At this time of year most of us are probably thinking about this last definition of new. However, for […]

from Erica Jacobsen, JCE High School Editor
If you haven’t visited it before, chemistry.com (accessed Jun 2008) probably isn’t quite what you think. The Web site does focus on chemistry—of the matchmaking kind. The online dating service uses an algorithm created by Helen E. Fisher, an anthropologist who has studied the neural chemistry of people in […]

from Laura Slocum, JCE High School Associate Editor
What could the three items in the title possibly have in common? For me, they represent three of the 24 different projects my students turned in February 14. In the July 2007 issue of the Journal of Chemical Education, Ami LeFevre shared her Element Project, Bouquets of Periodicity, […]

Als Ik Kan is the message in the logo of Gustav Stickley, creator of the Mission style of furniture. Loosely translated from Flemish it means “to the best of my ability”. Jim D. Roach, Emporia State University, KS uses Als Ik Kan as the theme for his call for greater dedication by everyone, teachers, students, […]

from Erica Jacobsen, JCE High School Editor
“Coulda, woulda, shoulda” is a loop that often plays in my brain after a conference presentation. Why didn’t I… I could have… I should have… Even after extensive preparation, it’s easy to dwell on what you could have done differently so the presentation would have been even better. Maybe […]

from Erica Jacobsen, JCE High School Editor
My young children are big fans of dot-to-dot puzzles. Each page doesn’t look like much to start—just a jumbled up mess of numbered dots. But if the dots are linked in the correct order, an appealing picture appears. Reading through the May 2008 issue of the Journal of Chemical […]

According to Gresham’s Law, bad money will drive out good money (1). In economics the law applies to situations where two things of different value are either perceived to have equal value or are required to be accepted as having equal value. For example, if a government requires that all coins of the same denomination […]

from Laura Slocum, JCE High School Associate Editor
Over the last few months, more high school chemistry teachers than ever before have asked me these questions and I was really surprised. However, as I inquired more deeply, I began to realize that fewer of the “new” teachers (teachers in their first 1–5 years of instruction) than […]

from Erica K. Jacobsen, JCE High School Editor
“What is the average yearly rainfall for Phoenix?” A social studies assignment asked an extension question of this sort during my grade school years. The answer wasn’t in the text, so tracking down the answer required a trip to the local library, or a telephone call to the […]