Magic of Chemistry spreads interest in science to Girl Scouts

COLUMBIA — Twice a year, 200 Girl Scouts invade MU in the name of science. They spend a Saturday doing experiments, watching demonstrations and meeting several different characters. At the end of the day the girls walk away with a Magic of Chemistry participation patch, but the creator of the program, Sheryl Tucker, hopes they also take away an interest in science.

Tucker, associate dean of the MU Graduate School, was hired in 1996 as an assistant professor of chemistry. By 1998 she had piloted the program, Magic of Chemistry. She created the program to ignite girls’ interests in chemistry and science. Now, 10 years later, she has just published research findings in Science Magazine showing the program is living up to its expectations. She found that 81 percent of those who go through the program are interested in studying science careers afterwards.

The starting salary for those with a bachelor’s degree of science in chemistry is around $35,000. These graduates can have law, education, scientific writing, industrial and government careers. There are approximately 150 chemistry majors at MU.
Tucker said that it has been proven that girls lose their curiosity in science during elementary school and middle school. So, she targeted Girl Scouts between fourth and sixth grade and drew them in by showing the girls that science could be fun.

“I wanted to tap into the bubbly enthusiasm that kids have and keep that alive,” she said.
The program has three themes with several experiments to go with each. The three themes, Case of the Unsigned Letter, Fun with Polymers and the Chemistry of Color, rotate each year so that if scouts want to come all three years, they will experience three different experiments.

The program has about 50 student and about 50 adult volunteers who come with the troops. Tucker said a few of the student volunteers will dress up and play a certain character all day to go along with the theme. During Fun With Polymers, “Dr. Ick” teaches the kids how to make slime to be used as fake blood in movies. Tucker appreciates her volunteers who will go that extra mile for the program.

“It takes some pretty incredible volunteers to dress up and take on the role of those characters all day,” she said. “But, it is those themes that really draw the program together.”

Sarah Stansfield attended Magic of Chemistry during her fifth and sixth grade years as a Girl Scout. Now a sophomore anthropology major, she volunteers in the program. She said her favorite theme was Case of the Unsigned Letter because it was like a mystery forensic case.

“I remember thinking about how cool it was,” she said. “It made me see that there was so much more you could do with science than we saw in school.”

Tucker, the creator of the program, said she had been interested in science and math for years but when she got to high school she got a bit more inspired.

“I had a chemistry teacher who was slightly off balance,” she said. “He would come to class dressed up in costumes.”

His over enthusiasm excited Tucker about chemistry. Then during high school she went to the state science fair and got a superior rating. This opened her eyes.

“Wow. If someone who does not even know me thinks I am good at this then maybe I should pay attention to that,” she said.

Tucker, who holds a doctorate in chemistry, thinks it is important to pass along the same excitement with her program. Katrina Kline, volunteer since 2005, agrees that it is valuable.

“I thought it would be really good to share the science with young kids,” Kline said. “I think it is important to show the girls and the community that science is something you do everyday whether you realize it or not.”

The last time Kline, an MU graduate student, volunteered she taught the kids about tie-dye. She helped them tie-dye their own shirts and explained to them how the dye works. She said it was not only a fun day for the Girl Scouts, but for the volunteers as well.
“The girls are fun and really excited to be there,” she said. “It just makes you excited to be there with them and be a kid again for a day.”

The program recruits Girl Scouts through the Heart of Missouri Girl Scout Counsel. Magic of Chemistry runs once in the fall coinciding with National Chemistry Week and once in the spring coinciding with National Girl Scouts Week.