Social Chemists?

Last night the first Chemistry Club Social event of the year finally happened! It was funny, earlier in the day I was talking to my friend Paul, who has a Ph.D. in chemical physics, and when I mentioned what the club was going to do later that night he responded jokingly, “What? Chemists and social just don’t fit right in the same sentence.”

Yes, there is a stigma that chemists, and scientists in enjoy working alone in a lab with limited social interaction. That’s certainly a myth, not a fact, and last night ended up being a great time!

18 others and myself met up and drove to the Sleepy Hollow Scream Park in east Des Moines for a night of hanging out and touring haunted houses. Being the weekend before Halloween, the park was packed and the lines were outrageous. We spent an average of an hour waiting to see two attractions, but it was definitely the best part of the night.

Most people didn’t know each other, and it provided a great opportunity to meet and talk about school and life. We bought a package that included visiting all five main attractions, but left after only seeing two because the waits were so long. Nonetheless, everybody seemed to have a good time at the park!

One of the nice things about Chemistry Club is its ability to generate its own funds. Most student organizations on campus get an allocation of a certain amount of money to spend each year, which comes from our tuition.

Chemistry Club on the other hand, sells laboratory notebooks and glasses at the beginning of the year and is able to generate enough revenue to sustain all of our Kids in Chemistry and social costs. College students don’t usually have a lot of money to spend, so it was nice last night where the club was able to pick up the tab!

Until next time,

Mike

Our first social event at Sleepy Hollow with Sponge Bob

Getting ready to shoot some zombies!