Butterfly pea tea indicator solutions

Butterfly pea tea

Another variation on the cabbage-water-indicator we've tried out lately - butterfly pea tea.

You can buy it from Amazon, but not from any specialist tea shops. When I phoned them up and asked them about it, the Oxford ones were curious, and had never heard of it!

It's almost flavourless, so works well in cocktails, and a few leaves make a vivid, bright blue liquid. Squeeze some lemon in, and it turns vibrantly pink (less effective with dry ice - just turns purple. Needs more push).

You can add gin to it safely without changing the colour, although shockingly most people don't want to drink a cocktail that tastes mostly of gin. Elderflower cordial is a good add that doesn't affect colour.

Pictures:

https://goo.gl/photos/wRTGzXgc1DziwgDN9

https://goo.gl/photos/vtgJN61F8jJs71RdA

*Dr Rowena Fletcher-Wood*

Science Communicator

*sciencegecko.co.uk* <http://sciencegecko.co.uk>

@RowenaFW

07708824013

Todays Google Doodle clebrates Dorothy Hodgkin (Protein Crystallographer)

Dorothy Hodgkin was the third woman to win the Nobel prize (for chemistry) for her work including structures for penicillin and Vitamin B12. All done despite suffering from progressive and crippling arthritis. She was also concerned with social inequalities.

Royal Society of Chemistry Bill Bryson Prize 2013

This may be of interest to secondary school pupils:

RSC Bill Bryson Prize 2013

The RSC Bill Bryson Prize is designed to recognise and encourage excellent science communication in schools and colleges.The competition is open to students aged 5-18 with entries accepted in any format as long as they accurately communicate science appropriate for their chosen audience.

Recent entries have included videos, podcasts, posters, even cartoons and poems.

Theme for the 2013

For the 2013 competition we want your creative answers to this question How does science keeps us healthy?

How to enter

Entrants will be able to submit entries online from the beginning of March 2013, please check back in March for further submission details.

Deadline

The 2013 competition deadline is 31 March 2013.

Entry Information

Who can enter and what are the categories

Downloadable Files

Promotional Poster
Download this poster to promote the 2013 Bill Bryson Prize PDF (492k)  

PDF files require Adobe Acrobat Reader

2012 Winners

RSC Bill Bryson Prize 2012 winners

View the winning entries for 2012.

Contact and Further Information

Education Department
Royal Society of Chemistry, Thomas Graham House, Milton Road, Science Park, Cambridge CB4 0WF, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1223 432221
Fax: +44 (0)1223 423623
Email: Education Department

RI Christmas lectures

The excellent RI Christmas (Modern Alchemist) lectures are now available from the RI Archives.
Watch and enjoy!

Royal Institution online Advent Calendar

There is no avoiding it. Stores have been stocking shelves for it for months....


Gentlemen (and ladies), we are approaching Christmas. So how do we celebrate Christmas and science at the same time? 

Fear not, and be of good cheer, the 2012 Christmas Lectures are all about chemistry,so the theme for this RI calendar is peoples favourite chemical element.

Uni. of Bath & RSC Spectroscopy in a suitcase resource

This may be of interest to (primarily) chemistry teachers:

Spectroscopy in a Suitcase - free activities

Any chemists / teachers out there who have used / have access to the Royal Society of Chemistry's excellent Spectroscopy in a Suitcase outreach resource, may be interested to hear that the University of Bath has developed a range of complementary activities which can be run using infra-red and UV/Vis spectroscopy.

The free activities (which include descriptions, student worksheets and teacher guides) can be downloaded at:

http://www.hestem-sw.org.uk/project?id=15&pp=342

To access a range of other free widening participation and public engagement resources, see:

http://www.hestem-sw.org.uk/project?cat=Widening+Participation