“That was a blast!”

On Thursday, April 25, Mr. Sustek’s High School Chemistry Students benefited from an outreach by ASU Chemistry’s Dr. Ralph Zehnder (aka "Dr. Z") and his star chemistry students (who also happen to be interested in teaching).

(The ASU Chemistry program has a mobile program and visits different schools in the spring after their exams are completed). Dr. Z and his various acolytes have been dazzling Mr. Sustek’s chemistry classes for at least the past 6 years, and he was happy to continue the tradition at TLCA.

Students from Mr. Sustek's 6th-period chemistry class (as well as those in Mr. Hedden's class) came together to participate. The ASU crew demonstrated appropriate chem-lab safety and worked with liquid nitrogen (with a temp of 400 below F) to demonstrate gas laws and phase changes. Furthermore, they demonstrated a carbon tower by dehydrating sugar with sulfuric acid, rapid decomposition of a gummy bear with potassium permanganate, and other chemistry party tricks.

Students left with more interest in pursuing science as a career. We will always welcome any opportunity for them to return, maybe in the future with TLCA grads!