Looking forward, looking back.

Time to review the last year and take a look at what is in store for this one. In addition to my two regular South Africa trips I was able to do something especially exciting last year. In addition there is a (nearly) all new Kitchen Chemistry for this year.

Last year was exceptional for the Kitchen Chemist. I was invited to perform at the Royal Institution, “where science lives”. It was a real privilege to give the Kitchen Chemistry science show in the lecture theatre where Humphrey Davy and Michael Faraday popularised the demonstration lecture. Davy’s presentations were so popular that traffic in the street outside led to gridlock in the capital. Hence Albemarle Street was the first one-way street in London created for the purpose of aiding traffic flow.

In addition to that spectacular opportunity I visited South Africa twice. Once in March for Scifest, the National Science festival, and again in early September to continue the Kitchen Chemistry Outreach project. In between these I travelled to Leeds, for the Royal Society of Chemistry Local Section, and twice more to London for a Chemistry Day run by “The Training Partnership”. In between these major trips I have still been giving science shows to groups and organisations in the local area.

This year looks equally exciting, although a little less busy, at least at the moment. I have the new Kitchen Chemistry: second helpings, which has mostly new material. I have kept in a couple of classic demos, but have put a different spin on at least one. I have done the “first draft” of this already so that I am prepared for Scifest, to which I’ll travel at the end of the month.

Unfortunately the current Director of Scifest is moving on to pastures new, so this might be the end of the Kitchen Chemistry Outreach project. We’ll just have to see what direction the new Director wishes to take, we never know, I might get to do even more.

I am looking forward to the other events that I already have in the diary, such as performing for the Salters’ Festival of Chemistry at UEA. Norwich has decided to run its very own Science Festival, so I may also have the chance to take part in that too.

At the moment there is a break in the Avogadro’s Lab articles. These have been suspended for the moment as Education in Chemistry is planning to develop “The Mole”. Given that I won’t be called upon to write articles this year I may have time to develop this website a little further. There are already a series of pages at info.kitchenchemistry.eu which might be of interest (details of talks, The Kitchen Chemist’s calendar, and the interactive Gallery of Molecules). I am also developing interactive maps to show what I have been doing and where.

Watch this space!