Last Saturday, good little children gathered outside the gates of Frick Chemistry Laboratory at Princeton University. They all had a special invitation to meet the marvelous creator of all things sugar and science, Mister Willy Wonka!
Well, maybe not the Willy Wonka, but it was a marvelous morning of hands-on science tables followed by an auditorium show that included, among other things, screaming gummy bears (we have footage later in the post!).
The Cotsen Children’s Library was delighted to collaborate once again with the Department of Chemistry and Science Outreach at Princeton University to bring this free education event to the community. It began with hands-on tables provided by the undergraduate and graduate students of Science Outreach at Princeton University:
Back Row (left to right): Catherine Hexter (UAF graduate student), Alexander Luna, John Woo, Ashton Marnik, Jack Langan, Catherine Arbaugh, Joanna Lin, Davis Hobley, Danielle Burke, Paryn Wallace (Associate Director). Front Row (left to right): Sophie Wang, Tanya Zhou, Anna Buretta, Shalini Shankar, Ria Tomar
The event tables featured experiments with density, buoyancy, Pop Rock inflated balloons, the centrifugal force of cotton candy, gum drop candy engineering, sugar crystals under microscopes, and oozy non-Newtonian chocolate rivers!
The thoroughly sugared audience then moved to the auditorium, where the talented Angie Miller from the Department of Chemistry wowed them with not just chemistry, but her sheer enthusiasm for all things science!
Angie demonstrated the scientific method, neon rainbows, giant marshmallow men, candy-colored flames, exploding balloons, towers of sulfur, annnnnd as promised…SCREAMING GUMMY BEARS!
Did the great candy maker himself make an appearace? Why yes, he did, courtesy of Angie’s brother Tom, and his adorable twin boys. Who incredibly, look exactly like Oompa-Loompas.
Let’s see the full costume…
A fantastic time was had! We would like to thank Angie Miller, Department of Chemistry and Paryn Wallace and the students from Science Outreach at Princeton University for a job well done. Hats off to you!