Teaching faculty, staff and student volunteers entertained more than 300 adults and children who attended two Holiday Magic Chemistry Demonstration Shows on Dec. 6-7 in Noyes Laboratory on the Illinois campus.
The popular holiday-themed chemistry show was revived in December 2024 after the pandemic and Noyes building projects forced the event into a temporary hiatus. Following up on the show's successful return last year, teaching faculty members, staff, and student volunteers in the Department of Chemistry planned, prepped, and performed more than an hour of demonstrations for the popular family-friendly holiday-themed community event that demonstrates chemistry principles in a fun and approachable way.
The teaching faculty members who performed the chemistry demonstrations were Tina Huang, director of general chemistry; Jordan Axelson, director of undergraduate studies; Elise McCarren, director of the Chemistry Merit Program; and Bhagya Gunasekera, senior lecturer. Associate Director of Teaching Labs Serenity Desmond helped coordinate the event and staff member Thilini Fernando handled all of the demonstration preparations before both shows. Other chemistry lab staff members who helped behind the scenes are Blake Lallathin, Zach Buchanan, and Amanda Lam.
And student volunteers helped in various ways as well. Nidhi Rajesh, Emily Albrecht, Kaela Maghinang, Ivy Qiu, Aiyana Jehan, Gabriela Mlynarczyk, and Janiya Hudson checked in guests as they arrived for the shows. Other students helped behind the scenes, including Ellie Moulton, Matthew MacLaren, Maya Strong, Suhana Kashinathappa, Ananya Sampathkumar, and Alexia Roeva.
Event photos
Click to enlarge each photo and see a description.
