MOUSSE, A SHORT STORY TO INTRODUCE CHEMISTRY EXPERIMENTS IN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL

The Department of Chemistry at University of Girona has been working for years for the promotion and popularization of chemistry in our immediate environment. The result of this work has been to stop and to invert the downward trend of students taking a degree in chemistry.

The recently created C4D, Càtedra de Cultura Científica i Comunicació Digital (Chair of Scientific Culture and Digital Communication) of our university composed mainly of professors of this department and its purpose is popularizing science using actively technology resources.

With the aim of bringing science to society, our working group has carried out various activities aimed at secondary and high school students. The work presented is destined at both students of the middle and upper primary studies, as well as high school students.

Our experience consists in relating a fantastic story of a monster called Mousse, the monster of the foam. Mousse is magical and a day in his life is full of surprises. On the narrative thread, a scientist presents cool chemistry experiments, some live and other recorded, but always following the same script and decorated, so that the magical monster appears on screen and live of alternative form, surprising the audience.

Four experiments are conducted live and five more are projected, in a presentation lasting approximately 35 minutes. Later a question-and-answer session is established by the pupils. The experiments we have chosen to be conducted live can be adapted in the duration and in the physical space of a conventional high school classroom.

Up to the moment this experience has been carried out in all secondary courses and fifth course in primary in three schools of Figueres (Girona, Spain). It is evident that students are attracted by the spectacular experiments presented. Our perception and that of the teachers of primary and secondary is that the experience motivates students and awakens their curiosity to know and understand what happens. The seed of science begins to germinate.