Great Lakes Science Center Opens A New Chem Lab For Visitors

There’s something brewing at the Great Lakes Science Center. The museum’s new hands-on chemistry lab is making science, technology, engineering and math cool again, by making it more approachable for K-8 students. Not to be confused with the science center’s old demonstration labs, which were used for shows and instruction, the new, highly interactive lab comes with enhanced equipment that can be used for individual experimentation, such as manipulating color-changing slime that reacts to our body temperature.

“[Chemistry is] in almost everything you touch,” says Amy Pausche, vice president of development at Great Lakes Science Center. “Really, we’re all chemists, whether you cook, whether you paint, all of these things are all chemistry.” With workshops using state-of-the-art technology to conduct wacky-yet-fascinating experiments such as using electrophoresis to separate the different properties of Gatorade, the new lab reinforces that STEM is for everyone.

“It feels magical,” says Pausche. “It’s awesome because when you have an everyday object where you can see it, what an incredible opportunity for kids to start thinking differently about the world around them.” She also sees the new lab as a workforce opportunity, giving kids who visit the chance to become Northeast Ohio’s next STEM leaders.

“If I’m comfortable going over and doing experiments, or if I am able to follow instructions and use technology to help move my things, or if I’m recording data through equipment,” she says, “those are all skills that employers look for.”