Science Alive was held virtually throughout the month of February and presented several new opportunities and challenges due to COVID-19. In spite of these changes, ND Energy and its student volunteers embraced the opportunity and created some amazing online demonstrations and activities for virtual viewers.
Undergraduate students on ND Energy’s Student Energy Board (SEB) presented 30-minute, live demonstrations at various times throughout the event (see schedule on our event page). All of the presenters encouraged viewers to pursue their interest in science and answered many interesting questions about being a student at Notre Dame.
- Mackenzie Winton and Lucas Barreto walked viewers through the steps of making a simple catapult while explaining potential and kinetic energy.
- Kelsey Farr used coffee filters and markers to demonstrate and explain the importance of separating materials in finding new chemicals for solar panels and batteries.
- Tara Senn demonstrated thermal energy by making “elephant’s toothpaste” in her dorm room.
- Nathaniel Hiott helped viewers make mini-wind turbines, while sharing his passion for wind energy.
- Caitlin Clancy and Lyla Senn demonstrated coal mining using chocolate chip cookies, while discussing the environmental impact of fossil fuels.
Graduate students from affiliated research laboratories videotaped energy-related demonstrations, activities, and laboratory tours. These videos can be viewed on our Science Alive webpage.
- Neha Mehra (Schneider lab) demonstrated separations and catalysis from her home kitchen in her production of “Curds and Whey- How and Why Do Scientists Separate Materials?”
- Jeffrey DuBose (Kamat lab) explained “Solar Water Splitting: Making Fuel from Water and Sunlight” using a video filmed in front of Touchdown Jesus.
- Ashley Hastings, Sam Perry, and Aliya Whitehill (Burns lab and Hixon lab) took viewers into a nuclear research lab to show them uranium crystal formations.
- Daniel Martin, Madeline Riffel and Keaton Prather (Go lab) demonstrated glow-in-the-dark reactions using a plasma globe, while explaining the role of energy in oxidation-reduction reactions.