International Day of Education 2023
CMAC Winner of CCDC Engagement Grant To Educate Young People About Crystallisation Science
On International Day of Education 2023, CMAC is celebrating Mohammad, Research Associate within CMAC’s Digital Medicines Manufacturing (DM²) programme, who recently won the new CCDC engagement grant by CCDC - The Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre. This marks Mohammad’s first project as the Primary Investigator.
This grant will facilitate the production of resources and activities to increase public engagement in crystallography and structural science, aligning with our strategic priorities at CMAC.
The project aims to raise awareness of crystallisation science among primary and secondary school students through easy-to-follow, self-paced experimental activity packs. The experiments will demonstrate the crystallisation process in the case of rock candy, or “Nabat” - a Persian dessert consumed with tea or coffee.
As part of the engagement strategy, the cultural and historical aspects of crystallisation science will also be considered. Notably, among the sweeteners and food colours added to rock candies, saffron has been traditionally used in Persian culture to create flavoured, gold rock candies.
An at-home/ at-school kit (including instructions and materials) will be designed to explain the experimental procedure and to illustrate the key concepts. Children will learn how crystals form, practice the science behind solubility and super-saturated solutions, and understand the impact of crystallisation conditions (such as temperature, pressure, seeding, and concentration) on the final structure and the taste of sugar crystals. The key concepts include crystal growth, seeding crystals, solvent/solute, and solubility. A variety of handouts, videos, and narratives will also be included in the activity pack to enhance the historical side of crystallisation science.
Having received the funding from CCDC, Mohammad recently kicked off the project by seeking and contacting partners, schools and institutions that will receive the CMAC crystallisation home-kit.
The activities from this project can also be run at events including Glasgow Explorathon and CMAC Open Days as part of our commitment to education and skills development.
For those further along their career path, check out our PhD programmes, MSc, Continuous Professional Development (CPD). https://cmac.ac.uk/skills-development/#skills-programmes .
Activity packs can be provided to schools nationally, so that children can do the experiments in school or at home. Please contact mohammad.salehian@strath.ac.uk if you know any schools that would be interested in receiving an activity pack.