A group of high school juniors from rural Washington County have become the first students in North America to experience a BASF program that gives them an inside look at the world of industrial chemistry, and its lessons made an impression.
"Chemistry has always kind of scared me," said Washington County High School junior Madison Howard, at the end of a two-day experience that included a tour of the BASF plant in McIntosh and a visit to the University of South Alabama campus. "I was nervous about it at first. It kind of opened by eyes. I want to pursue a career in this now."
BASF's first-ever United States presentation of its Teens' Lab program in the ended Friday afternoon with a little home cooking in a USA lab, as the students saw liquid nitrogen used to make ice cream. It had begun the day before in a meeting room outside the BASF plant in McIntosh, about an hour north of Mobile, where Communications Manager LaShaunda Garrett Holly gave an overview of the concept to participating students and their parents.
"You guys are the very first class for North America, and parents, that's a lot to be proud of," she said. "This program has been in the works for close to two years."
One of the BASF officials helping Holly with the presentation was Molly Borst, BASF's science education specialist for North America. Borst, who'd flown in from New Jersey for the occasion, said that chemical giant BASF had already presented a Kids' Lab at many of its 117 North American industrial sites, including McIntosh. But prior to this, a Teens' Lab for older kids had been done only in Germany and Spain.
"We knew about Teens' Lab, we just weren't ready to go there yet," said Borst. But in McIntosh, Holly and others were keen to present some programming that would help high schoolers with their career ambitions. Their interest helped make them the first to bring Teens' Lab to the country. "We were just eager," Holly said.
Even so, it was no light undertaking. Several team members, including Christy West, an assistant professor of chemical engineering at USA, traveled to Germany to get a first-hand look at the program. Borst said that Holly then worked to pack the program with career-oriented information.
Holly said that BASF invested about $30,000 in the program locally, and that it wouldn't have been possible without a major commitment from USA as well. "The university has put a lot of work into your experience," she said.
Holly said the inaugural program included 18 juniors from five high schools: McIntosh, Millry, Fruitdale, Washington County and Leroy. Before touring parts of the BASF plant on Thursday, May 11, they were treated to a panel discussion designed to illustrate the diverse career paths open within the field of chemistry, and the diverse paths a person could take to get to one of those jobs. One employee described working with his hands to build analytical equipment, while the next described mapping out the large-scale design of new production processes. One talked about the importance of pursuing internships and other opportunities, while the next talked about strategies for college applications and scholarships.
"You guys, you're going to replace me," said group leader Bill Napper. "You're the ones that are going to be in the labs 10 years from now."
"The adults on the panel were very impressed with the students," Holly said afterward. "They could not say enough about them and their parents."
Borst said that part of the experience was designed to give the juniors a preview of college life. That came Friday at USA, where they donned lab coats to work their way through a "substance labyrinth" - a series of test experiments designed to help identify unknown compounds.
After that relatively serious work, the group gathered around a lab table as Assistant Professor Christian Oertli and instructor Diane Roe prepared to make liquid nitrogen ice cream. But first Oertli began sketching a molecular diagram on the board. "I want to tell you something about polymers and what happens when it gets cold," he said.
After describing the way polymers could lose their elasticity in cold, Oertli presented the students with a challenge. "Am I telling you the truth?" he asked. "How do scientists prove a theory?"
When they hesitated to give answer, he provided one: "Don't trust anybody blindly," he said. "You make an experiment."
A length of rubber hose went into the liquid nitrogen and came out as brittle as glass. So did some flowers, which shattered across the lab table. And then Oertli and Roe began pouring some more edible materials into bowls: cream, sugar, vanilla, half & half. "I couldn't find the sprinkles, I'm sorry," said Roe.
Oertli poured liquid nitrogen into the mixing bowl while Roe stirred. Clouds of vapor billowed out, and soon the experiment had transformed into a super-chilled treat.
Before they left, students got swag bags that contained information on the USA applications process - and also on a new scholarship that will give priority to Teens' Lab participants.
For many, it seemed, the small preview of college life had been an eye-opener. "The campus is beautiful," said Howard.
Another student, McIntosh High School Junior Cameron Weaver, said he'd enjoyed both the dive into serious lab work in the substance labyrinth and the general care shown by the instructors. "The farther we went in, the more we learned," he said. "I'm impressed with how much they cared about safety."
Holly said plans were for Teens' Lab to become an annual experience in McIntosh. Howard said she planned to spread the word. "I'm going to tell my 10th graders to get into it," she said. "It opens your eyes."