The College of Science and Mathematics, Department of Chemistry, and Student Members of the American Chemical Society at Valdosta State University will present Science Saturday: Marvelous Metals from 9 a.m. to noon on Oct. 12 in the Hugh C. Bailey Science Center.
 
Science Saturday: Marvelous Metals is ideal for students in the middle grades. However, all ages are invited to take advantage of this fun-filled and educational opportunity to learn about the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements by testing the properties of metals, observing reactions, and discovering that chemistry is everywhere every day.
 
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements, one of the most significant achievements in science capturing the essence of chemistry as well as physics, medicine, earth sciences, and biology. Dmitri Mendeleev discovered the Periodic System in 1869. The United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization have declared 2019 to be the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements.  
 
Science Saturday is supported by VSU’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Initiative and is part of an ongoing effort to inspire the next generation to want to learn more about these areas. Faculty in the College of Science and Mathematics understand that the nation’s future economic prosperity is closely linked with student success in the STEM fields.
 
“All young people should be prepared to think deeply and to think well so that they have the chance to become the innovators, educators, researchers, and leaders who can solve the most pressing challenges facing our nation and our world, both today and tomorrow,” according to the United States Department of Education.
Educators across the nation and at VSU are committed to improving STEM instruction for students in preschool through 12th grade, increasing and sustaining public and youth engagement with STEM, improving the STEM experience for undergraduate students at the college level, better serving groups historically underrepresented in the STEM fields, and designing graduate education for tomorrow’s STEM workforce.
 
Science Saturday activities are free of charge and open to the public. Parking is available along Georgia Avenue, between Oak Street and Patterson Street.
 
Science Saturday: Marvelous Metals is sponsored by the Southwest Georgia section of the American Chemical Society.