Students in Zach Seifert’s ChemClub put Vanguard College Preparatory High School on the world map – the Global Water Experiment Map. The American Chemical Society (ACS) ChemClub is a high school chemistry club that provides students with a unique opportunity to experience chemistry beyond the classroom.

As part of the International Year of Chemistry 2011 (IYC), so designated by the United Nations, Seifert’s students measured acidity and other properties of Lake Waco and posted them to the IYC global water map. Organizers, including the ACS, hope this will become the world’s biggest chemistry experiment ever, as students, scouts, and community groups from many nations study their local water sources and post the data to the interactive, global map.

“This was a wonderful experience for my students,” said Seifert. “They enjoyed applying chemistry to a real world situation and learning about the importance of clean water for people throughout the world.”
Seifert will soon receive a certificate from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization for his participation in the Global Experiment and commitment to the goals of the International Year of Chemistry. The IYC is a worldwide celebration of the achievements of chemistry and its contributions to the well-being of humankind, which includes providing safe drinking water to a thirsty world.

Classrooms and community groups may conduct the experiments and add data to the IYC map through December 2011. Visit www.acs.org/water2011 for more details.

The American Chemical Society is a promoter of the International Year of Chemistry in the United States, and is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 163,000 members, ACS is the world’s largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals, and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

NOTE: To view the data, click on the map link above, then choose Experiment 1, and hover over Texas until Waco appears. Click there and you will see the name of Vanguard College Preparatory High School, Zach Seifert, and the pH measurements of Lake Waco