| |
 |
| Dow employee Matthew Machana demonstrates to local students how science can be fun by conducting hands-on experiments at Luling Elementary. |
Luling Elementary, Dow's Partner in Education, recently received a unique science lesson. Last month, Matthew Mechana, an employee at Dow's Louisiana Operations, taught approximately 235 second- and third-graders how chemistry works to change the state of objects.
Mechana used a vat of super-chilled liquid nitrogen to petrify flowers, construct a "banana hammer" and even make ice cream. The group of elementary students saw the experiments as "magic," but Mechana explained it was just "chemistry at work in everyday life."
In one experiment, Mechana cut a banana in half, stuck a pencil through the end and dipped it into the liquid nitrogen, causing it to harden. He then asked one of the smallest students to use the "banana hammer" to push a nail through a piece of wood. The girl did just that, and even the largest students in the class were unable to remove the nail.
Later that day, Mechana allowed the students to mix milk, sugar and other ingredients, to which he added the liquid nitrogen. The resulting reaction seemed to some to be a "witches' brew," but the ingredients combined to make instant ice cream, which the teachers stored in the freezer for the students to have as a snack later in the day.
Safety and the significance of education are the primary focus of the demonstrations, which expose students to science through a hands-on teaching method. Dow's "Science is pHun" program was introduced to St. Charles Parish during last year's demonstration at Luling. Dow is working to make the program available to other schools throughout the parish.
Dow is a leader in science and technology, providing innovative chemical, plastic and agricultural products and services to many essential consumer markets. With annual sales of $40 billion, Dow serves customers in 175 countries and a wide range of markets that are vital to human progress: food, transportation, health and medicine, personal and home care, and building and construction, among others. Committed to the principles of sustainable development, Dow and its 43,000 employees seek to balance economic, environmental and social responsibilities. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted.
St. Charles Operations is owned by Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company. "Dow", as used throughout this web site, often refers generically to The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries. |
|
|
