At the entrance of the South Tower, Maria Inês Martins and Francisco Davane, first-year Chemical Engineering undergraduate students, demonstrated experiments such as making ‘elephant toothpaste’ and soap balls. They chose to participate in the 20th edition of the Open Laboratories of the Department of Chemical Engineering ‘to showcase their experiments and introduce chemistry to secondary school students’. This initiative took place from 5 to 9 May at Técnico – Alameda campus.
Inside the Tower, around 500 students from 13 schools in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area witnessed the vibrant orange foam of ‘elephant toothpaste’ overflowing from an Erlenmeyer flask, which resulted from a chemical reaction between detergent and hydrogen peroxide. Additionally, students had the opportunity to examine minerals under a microscope and observe crystal models at 100 times the magnification of the human eye. Beatriz Modesta, a second-year undergraduate student, explained the experiments to interested attendees and answered their questions. This was her second time participating in the event. Martim Pereira, also a first-year undergraduate, learned about the event from professors who encouraged students in class to join. He signed up using a form available on the Department of Chemical Engineering (DEQ) website, where volunteers could indicate their preferred activities.
“Over the last 20 years, thousands of primary and secondary school students have visited the DEQ, many of whom subsequently chose to study at Técnico”, says Dulce Simão, the project’s coordinator. “We believe it’s important to promote the role of chemistry and chemical engineering in our daily lives, as well as to inspire the younger generation in science and technology, while also attracting new students to study Chemical Engineering and Materials Engineering” she adds.
In the laboratories, visitors observed an experiment with liquid nitrogen, followed by a dark room where everyday chemistry could be seen in action. For instance, colourful cocktails glowing in the dark demonstrated the fluorescence of quinine, which is found in tonic water. Emergency exit signs became visible in a blackout due to phosphorescent material, while the light of fireflies illustrated chemiluminescence.
On an industrial scale, the laboratories produce 150 litres of deionized water each week through a reverse osmosis process to meet laboratory demands, alongside a commitment to polymer sustainability.
The activities of DEQ’s Open Laboratories were carried out in collaboration with the Chemical Engineering Students’ Organisation (NEQIST) and were organised by professors, researchers, non-teaching staff, and more than 60 students from Chemical Engineering, Materials Engineering, and Environmental Engineering programmes. In addition to lab visits, the event featured 10 lectures by alumni working in industry, as well as DEQ professors and researchers.
