Health and safety regulations frighten many science teachers away from exciting practical experiments. But there is no need to be afraid: support exists to ensure chemistry demonstrations are practical and safe.
Wendy Butler, a teacher at St James' Catholic High School in Barnet, performs four experiments in a chemistry lesson on reduction-oxidation reactions with her Year 11 class. Her experiments are safe, but not entirely successful. So Wendy has a training session with CLEAPSS (the Consortium of Local Education Authorities for the Provision of Science Services) to ensure the job is done right. She achieves great results.
Key points:
- To engage students in chemistry, it?s important for demonstrations to be visually appealing
- Spectacular experiments can often be performed safely
- There?s lots of support available if your experiments aren?t working
See the resources and support materials page for links, publications and CLEAPSS' downloadable experiment guide and risk assessment.
