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The weather station in this project is quite basic, measuring only temperature, pressure, and humidity, but it may be easily expanded to measure other weather components, such as wind speed and rainfall. The design is based on using a series of…

Terrain maps are physical models that give you an at-a-glance overview of landforms. Architects, builders, and engineers often use these types of maps to provide context to proposed building designs. In this project, you'll create a layered…

In this project, you will build a small, vertical-axis wind turbine, or VAWT for short. VAWTs are not as efficient as their horizontal-axis cousins, but they are better suited to urban environments where wind can come from different…

Unlike its name, Bicycle Day is not a holiday honoring your favorite two-wheeled, environmentally friendly vehicle. This holiday celebrates the day chemist Albert Hofmann first discovered the psychedelic effects of lysergic acid diethylamide,…

Is gluten good for you, or is gluten bad for you? This video breaks down the chemistry and science behind this controversial food ingredient. Credit: Reactions/American Chemical Society

People have turned to “vaping” with electronic cigarettes as an alternative to puffing on the real thing. But is the vapor they’re inhaling any safer than smoking a cigarette? This video examines what we know, and what we don’t know, about…

Are you breathing air molecules that were once exhaled by Caesar, Joan of Arc, or Madame Curie? Why did Albert Einstein try to break into the refrigerator business? In this video, writer Sam Kean, author of science books "Caesar’s Last…

Vanilla is a flavor so common that some people use it as an adjective to describe something plain or ordinary. But watch out! This beloved, flavorful bean may soon become a rarity. Credit: Reactions/American Chemical Society

This animation shows how a barometer measures atmospheric pressure.

This animation explains the concept of biomes (major communities of organisms distributed over wide areas) and describes some of the biomes found around the world.

Some ice burns because it’s actually methane trapped in water. This video discusses the chemistry of methane hydrates as a source of energy and a climate change threat. Credit: Reactions/American Chemical Society

An estimated 133 billion pounds of food gets thrown away every year in the United States. Understanding when your food goes bad is important to help reduce waste. Unfortunately, consumers can’t just check the expiration date on the packaging,…

Thanks to the demands of eco-conscious consumers, biodegradable and compostable plastics are cropping up everywhere. Are these green plastics the solution to our throwaway lifestyle? Well, it’s complicated, as this video explains. Credit:…

Every medicine we buy has an expiration date printed on it, but does that pill or tablet actually go bad? This video explains the chemistry of drug expiration dates. Credit: Reactions/American Chemical Society

Researchers at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, popularly known as Virginia Tech, helped prove that lead levels were dangerously high in Flint, Michigan tap water, even when government officials denied the problem. This…

When temperatures fall along with snow, you know you're in the middle of winter. This video has seasonal advice on keeping your windshield fog-free, getting unstuck from the snow, and even how to make your own hand warmer. [Credit:…

This video explores the chemistry of, and pain response to, pepper spray. Watch for some important tips on what to do if you accidentally spray yourself with this debilitating substance. Credit: Reactions/American Chemical Society

This video tracks the formation of snowflakes from their origins in bits of dust in clouds that become droplets of water falling to Earth. As each snowflake rises and falls through warmer and cooler air, it develops its own distinctive shape.…

This video takes science to the skies and checks out the chemistry behind chemtrails, or—more accurately—contrails. It’s easy to look at the white trail behind a jet aircraft and imagine all manner of chemicals raining down from above.…

When winter holidays come around, feasts and festivities cause many people to gain weight. But did you know that freezing-cold weather during those winter months can actually help people lose weight? This video talks about fat, and whether or…

This animation explains what a comet is and shows the different graphical distinctions of a comet with respect to its distance from the Sun

This animation describes several ways to make vaccines: with killed or inactivated pathogens, with live attentuated pathogens, with subunits of pathogens, and with recombinant DNA technology.

This animation explains continental drift and shows how continents on moving tectonic plates drift slowly across the Earth's surface.

On December 16, 1773, American colonists, frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing "taxation without representation," dumped more than 340 chests of British tea into Boston Harbor in Massachusettes. Dubbed "the Boston Tea Party," this…

This video explores the chemistry behind whether using cannabidiol (CBD)—a non-psychoactive compound produced by the marijuana plant—could make you fail a drug test. Credit: Reactions/American Chemical Society