Polymer Day: Outreach Experiments for High School Students

We present a collection of hands-on experiments that collectively teach precollege students fundamental concepts of polymer synthesis and characterization. These interactive experiments are performed annually as part of an all day outreach event for high school students that can inform the development of ongoing polymer education efforts in a university setting. The Advanced Polymer Synthesis experiment aims to introduce broad concepts of polymer synthesis. Techniques such as ring-opening polymerization are explained and demonstrated. The Block Polymer Micellization experiment extends this idea to block polymers for drug delivery applications. Students are taught the idea of self-assembly and prepare micelles to encapsulate beta-carotene in water with flash nanoprecipitation. In terms of materials characterization, the vast physical properties space of polymers is explored. The Happy Sad Spheres experiment provides an interactive demonstration of the glass transition temperature, while the Polymer Swelling/Rheology experiment features the interesting properties of cross-linked and entangled polymers. Evaluation surveys showed positive feedback from students in learning polymer concepts through this program. Overall, the simple principles taught by these outreach experiments can be easily incorporated into modern laboratory curricula with broad implications for disseminating public knowledge and promoting continued interest in polymer science and engineering.