As service to the community, Jason participated in a collaborative morning of fun & education spinning paint colors onto vinyl records. The children aged 7 to 15 years learned about paint: what it is, what it contains, how it works, and more importantly a little about polymers. By the end of the morning, they could identify common polymers around them, including their own skin, clothing, as well as plastics and coatings.
When children sit with folded arms, their forearms resemble the double bonds of monomers. They learned that chemists can make the double bonds in monomers open up (just like unfolding arms) and now, they can now hold the hands of their neighbors to make a chain – just like in polymer chains. They learned about how long polymer chains give liquid paint viscosity or thickness – so it doesn’t just fall off the wall. Then, they learned about color mixing and centrifugal forces, as they drizzled paint onto spinning vinyl records to make their colored discs. It was a fun and rewarding morning.
I’m always careful not to post pictures of other people’s children without their parents – but once the kids had all had a turn, then it was time for Sheriff Maddox and her deputies to join in on the play as well. Jahari Soward (My eSteam Kit; TechBridge Inc.; NPursuit Careers) led and organized the event. A big thank you to the Dekalb County Sheriff’s Department, Sheriff Maddox and her team, for hosting the summer camp.
