WEIRD and wonderful things will be happening in Bristol next week. Parents
and children will be turning water into 鈥渃herryade鈥�, converting old
halfpennies into 鈥済old鈥�, and making miraculously smooth sauces. It鈥檚 all
happening at Bristol鈥檚 interactive science museum, The Exploratory, which is
staging a nine-day festival of Chemistry Magic.
In a hands-on experiment called 鈥渢he alchemist鈥檚 dream鈥� an old copper coin
is dipped in a solution of sodium zincate containing a strip of metallic zinc.
An electrochemical reaction coats the coin with zinc, says science officer
Bridget Holligan, making it look like silver. Warming the coin on a hotplate
then causes the copper to migrate into the zinc, giving the coin a glistering
gold lustre. Holligan will also demonstrate how to turn water into cherryade
by adding alkali to water laced with the indicator phenolphthalein, which
turns the water a vivid pink.
The sauce experiment will emphasise the importance of separating starch
molecules in flour if you want to make a be麓chamel sauce smooth enough
to warrant a Michelin star.
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The Chemistry Magic festival begins on Saturday 10 February and aims to
introduce children, and their parents, to some of the wonders of chemistry.
鈥淚t鈥檚 nice to have the opportunity to do that for the public,鈥� says Holligan.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a really buzzing atmosphere.鈥�
The Exploratory, at Bristol Old Station, Temple Meads, is open every day
from 10 am to 5 pm. Phone 0117 907 9000.