the chemistry of purple glue

Purple glue?!  Purple glue?!  Ms. Marshall, why is the glue purple?!!

Oh, don’t worry, it will dry clear. 

What, the glue will dry clear?! It changes color?

This was a conversation my students and I had this past week.  As I passed out the glue sticks, exclamations of amazement filled the room as students one by one removed the caps from their glue sticks.

Purple glue! The glue is purple!  Why is it purple?!

At first, I was having trouble understanding why these glue sticks were creating such a commotion.  After all, they were just ordinary glue sticks—lovingly sent to me by my parents.  Several minutes passed before I realized why my students were so enthralled with the glue.  Sweden does not have Elmer’s glue.  These students have never seen purple glue before.  And they certainly have never seen purple glue that dries clear.  I share this story simply because it makes me smile.  It was hilarious to watch students get so excited about something which is so normal to me.  In many ways, this story epitomizes my experiences in Sweden so far.  Slowly, Sweden and I have been adjusting to each other’s normal.  Sometimes, I find myself overreacting to Sweden’s normal, and other times, Sweden is overreacting to my normal.  It is this adjustment which has made life interesting. 

Purple glue.  Pretty remarkable stuff.

While we are on the subject of interesting, I should probably let you know that we have indeed started the chemistry unit in science!  Let’s be real.  The human body unit was fun.  But, chemistry is SO MUCH BETTER.  Yes, I am a little biased because I was a chemistry major at university.  It also helps that I taught a very similar unit during my practicum back at home.  However, one of the main reasons I am enjoying these lessons is simply because the students are so unfamiliar with the content.  To start off the unit, I had students rotate between several stations which each had a small chemistry experiment—mixing Alka Seltzer with water, dripping iodine on starch, examining the curious properties of oobleck, etc.  When I asked how many students had ever used an eye dropper before, only a few raised their hands.  We then moved into discussions about matter, atoms and elements, and I asked students how many elements they thought existed.  They guessed 4, then 6, then 10, then 1000.  Afterwards, I showed them the periodic table and asked if students had ever seen it before.  Only three of my ninety students had.  So, needless to say, this unit has been pretty special because I am having the first opportunity to introduce students to these basic chemistry ideas.  What a privilege, huh?

Here is one of the stations students did--dripping
iodine on starch and baking soda.

While I could go on and on about chemistry, I should probably give you a quick update on math.  Students had their first math test this week.  One of my favorite quotes of the week came after the test.  While students waited for their peers to finish the test, I gave them a small packet that showed them how they could make curves by only drawing straight lines with a ruler.  At the end of class, one student came up to show me her packet.  She dryly remarked, “My mind is blown.  Just blown.”  She smiled and proceeded to walk out of the classroom.  I think that’s what math should be about.  I would love to make it a goal of mine to daily blow students’ minds.  That should be what math is about—exploring the perplexing world around us using the tools math provides. 

Drawing curves with straight lines.

To finish off the week, Julia (another science teacher) and I went out to explore Borås.  As the shops closed up, we wandered around town enjoying the dying bustle of the streets.   Below are a few photos from our night out.

There is artwork all over Borås.
Julia found these Scandinavian horses.

Here is the river that cuts through Borås.

There are several foot bridges to cross the river.

The bus station.