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Chemistry is pHun

How the Department of Chemistry’s hit

community outreach event was born

By Molly Pendergast
Photos by Josh Hotz, Daniel Knight and Fangliang Xu

or kids young and old in Ottawa, Manthorpe. “We wanted to change that—we
Carleton University’s Chemistry wanted to show the public how chemistry
FMagic Show has been a popular and connects to their everyday lives, and how it
accessible attraction since 2008. As a staple impacts them.”
outreach event, the free magic shows use The show has undergone many changes
demonstrations to illustrate to the public over the course of more than 10 years. With
how chemistry is not only fun and exciting, a growing audience, the organizers had to
but far more prevalent, important and adapt to accommodate the demand: they
understandable than many people realize. increased the number of performances
From billowing smoke to big bangs (a crowd per day from two to three; they relocated
favourite), each demonstration has a simple the show to a larger auditorium in Richcraft
chemical explanation. Hall; they enlisted a TV camera crew to
When Prof. Jeff Manthorpe joined broadcast the show in overflow rooms and
Carleton’s Department of Chemistry in on local television, and they increased the
2006, he brought forward the idea of a number of Chemistry Magic Show events
community outreach show to his colleagues. held each year. In turn, a large group of
They were extremely supportive from enthusiastic and dedicated chemists and
the very beginning, he says, offering to student volunteers have become a crucial
share any extra materials they had on part of the show.
hand and their ideas about potential show In an effort to promote hands-on
demonstrations. Thus, the Chemistry Magic participation, activity rooms were added to
Show was born. the show, allowing kids to work with student
At that time, the department hadn’t volunteers on actual demonstrations—like
hosted a large, open-house event with any making ice cream with liquid nitrogen.
regularity for many years. However, there “It’s a great way for students to take
had been a similar initiative at Carleton the knowledge that they’ve acquired
that started in the 1960s; Don Wiles, now [at Carleton] and learn to explain the
Professor Emeritus in the department, had fundamental scientific principles behind
done some outreach shows under the title what they’re showing somebody, or what
‘Chemistry is pHun.’ somebody is doing with their own hands,”
“Don actually became a really great says Manthorpe.
resource for ideas,” says Manthorpe. “It’s
been neat to see how the show brought
together the different generations of faculty A Show to Remember
within the department. It’s definitely been a A special Chemistry Magic Show event
unifying thing.” was held in January 2019 to celebrate the
150th anniversary of the periodic table.
Over 1,800 audience members from the
Over a Decade of Growth community showed up throughout the day
At its core, the Chemistry Magic Show to check out the festivities—a new record.
aims to provide a visible platform for the With the audience members came a
scientific discipline. “Chemistry is not substantial number of donations. Since its
necessarily the most accessible science. inception, the show has been supporting
It falls into a middle ground,” explains the Ottawa Food Bank by encouraging

34 science.carleton.ca