It’s National Chemistry Week and the New York Hall of Science (NYSCI) is celebrating with a day of hands-on activities and demonstrations this Sunday, Oct. 18, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This year’s theme is “Chemistry Under Construction” and will explore the chemistry behind building, creating and transforming the world. 

The celebration — hosted in partnership with the New York Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS) and PepsiCo — also marks two important milestones: the 150th anniversary of ACS and the 135th anniversary of its New York Section. 

The ACS New York Section and NYSCI have partnered on National Chemistry Week for decades, impacting more than 25,000 children through hands-on experiments.

The hands-on chemistry activities and demonstrations will include Crystal Construction: Build Hot Ice, Making Slime, Invisible Ink, Acid Rain in Action, Fizzing Lemonade, Build a Biomaterial: Alginate Beads, and a “make your own flavored water” demo, hosted by PepsiCo.

Participants at last year’s National Chemistry Week celebration. Photo courtesy of Andrew Kelly/Bowery Image Group

NYSCI, located inside Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Corona, aims to nurture generations of passionate learners, critical thinkers and active citizens through an approach called Design, Make, Play. This approach emphasizes open-ended exploration, imaginative learning and personal relevance.

ACS New York Section, founded in 1891, is a nonprofit professional organization dedicated to advancing chemistry, supporting chemical professionals and promoting scientific education and outreach throughout the New York metropolitan area. It is currently celebrating its 135th anniversary.

Through activities such as National Chemistry Week, the Section works to increase public awareness and appreciation of chemistry, inspire future generations of scientists, and strengthen connections between academia, industry and the broader community.

PepsiCo has been a sponsor of the National Chemistry Week Celebration for over 20 years. Leaders at the company said the event is meaningful as the organizations continue to work together to support scientists in development in both chemistry and beyond.

For more information, visit NYSCI.org, or follow NYSCI on Twitter at @nysci, Instagram at @nysci, and Facebook at Facebook.com/nysci.