Polymer Ambassadors

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Polymer Ambassadors

• Promoting Polymer Education
• 1991 2009
• 18 years with 28 Ambassadors

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Sponsors

• The Polymer Ambassador program is sponsored by
  the Intersociety Polymer Education Council (IPEC)
  with grants from
• American Chemical Society and these divisions
• Polymer,
• Polymeric Materials Science and
• Engineering,
• Rubber and
• Society of Plastic Engineers
• Polymer Pioneers Association

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ACS Polymer Division, We Thank You

• For being interested in precollege education.
• For recognizing the importance of polymer
  education.
• For supporting our mission.
• For letting us share our success story with this
  presentation.

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IPEC Mission

• To significantly increase student interest and
  participation in science and technology subjects
  by incorporating the teaching of polymers and
  polymeric materials into K-12 curricula by
  utilizing the combined resources and
  infrastructures of the participating scientific
  societies.

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Polymer Ambassadors Mission

• The Polymer Ambassadors, with resources from
  educational, industrial, and professional
  societies, promote polymer education with
  teachers, students, and community audiences.

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When do K-12 students study polymers?

• When a teacher is excited about them.
• When a teacher can get the materials
  inexpensively.
• When the activities fit the State Science
  Educational Standards. The Ambassadors site the
  Standards for each activity.

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Our Activities

• PROMOTING POLYMER EDUCATION INCLUDES
• Writing laboratory experiments
• Performing demonstrations
• Organizing workshops
• Developing written materials
• Maintaining a WEB site
• www.polymerambassadors.org
• Publishing papers in Journals
• Earning Teaching Awards

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Some Examples of Laboratory Experiments

• What is a Polymer?
• Polymers in Cosmetics
• Grow Creatures
• Polydensity Tubes
• Designer Sneakers
• Corn Plastics
• Slimes and Snakes
• Art in Science
• Math Connections

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Demonstrations

• Joyce, Debbie, Jon,
• Andy, and Lynn

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WorkshopsBarbara, Sue, Sandy, and Vaughn
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Recent Published Papers

• "Polymer Ambassadors On the WWW", J. of Chemical
  Education, June 2006.
• "Chemical Bonding Makes a Difference!", J. of
  Chemical Education, October 2006.
• "Sorting Recycled Trash An Activity for Earth
  Day 2007",
• J. of Chemical Education, Feb. 2007.
• "Polymers in the Field and Track", J. of Chemical
  Education, October 2008.
• "Impact of Polymers in Impact Sports", J. of
  Chemical Education, October 2008.  
• "POLYMER AMBASSADORS A Novel Program to Promote
  Pre-college Learning about Polymeric Materials",
  Journal of Macromolecular Science, Part C
  Polymer Reviews, October 2008

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Where does the money go?

• Purchasing supplies for every workshop and
  demonstration.
• Travel expenses which include air fare or
  mileage, hotel room, and food.
• Shipping of supplies to conventions.
• WEB site maintenance.
• Books and courses on polymers.
• We volunteer our time and effort!

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Impact on Polymer Education

• The audiences vary but we have about 30/-
  teachers per session.
• With 20 active ambassadors, we impact over 2000
  teachers.
• Assuming each teacher has 25 students
  (elementary) or 125 students (high school), we
  can estimate that 140,000 students are having fun
  and learning about polymers each year.

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Impact over the years

• Ambassadors have been giving presentations for 18
  years.
• Our journal publications reach thousands of
  readers.
• We estimate that our work has
• impacted over 1.5 million
• students!
• One Ambassador is helping with a polymer exhibit
  at the Philippine Science Centrum.

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Awards and Recognition

• Presidential Award for Science Teaching 5
  Ambassadors
• Ohaus Award 2 Ambassadors
• CMA Catalyst Award 3 Ambassadors
• The Disney Award 1 Ambassador

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The future??

• Students having interesting experiences with
  polymers may want to pursue careers in polymers.
• Students receiving recognition for competitions
  involving polymers may also pursue careers in the
  field.
• Students reading about current developments of
  new polymeric products may pursue related careers.

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We cant do it without you!