The booms and bangs of chemical reactions will sound on the University of Colorado at Boulder campus on Saturday, April 28, when CU Wizard Tarek Sammakia presents his show about chemical reactions and pressure change at 9:30 a.m. in Cristol Chemistry room 140.
Sammakia, an associate professor of chemistry at CU-Boulder, will ignite hydrogen soap bubbles, crush a can using only water and demonstrate the luminescence reaction in fireflies during his show "Fireflies, Diapers and Exploding Hydrogen Balloons: Chemistry in Action." Fifth-grade students from Heatherwood Elementary School in Boulder will assist Sammakia during the show.
CU Wizards is an annual series that introduces topics in astronomy, chemistry and physics and is intended primarily for students in grades five through nine.
During the free hour-long show Sammakia will use both fire and dry ice to demonstrate how energy is released in the form of pressure changes during chemical reactions. He said the audience will see both explosions and implosions, as well as a lesson in light energy when he explains how fireflies light up.
The next CU Wizards show "Boom! The Physics of Sound and Air Pressure" is on May 26 and will feature Michael Dubson, a senior instructor in physics.
Free parking for the April 28 show is available in lot 169 northeast of Folsom Stadium off Folsom Street, lot 396 off Stadium Drive, lot 436 east of the Engineering Center and lot 308 south of Regent Drive and west of Kittredge Loop Road. Parking also is available in the Euclid Avenue Autopark for a nominal fee.
Anyone with a disability or special need should notify the physics office at (303) 492-6952 a few days prior to the show. For information about CU Wizards call (303) 492-4318 or visit the Web site at .