Polymer Ambassadors
Promoting Polymer Education
1991 – 2009
18 years with 28 Ambassadors
Sponsors
The Polymer Ambassador program is
sponsored by the Intersociety Polymer
Education Council (IPEC) with grants from:
American Chemical Society and these divisions:
Polymer,
Polymeric Materials: Science and
Engineering,
Rubber; and
Society of Plastic Engineers
Polymer Pioneers Association
ACS Polymer Division,
We Thank You
For being interested in precollege
education.
For recognizing the importance of
polymer education.
For supporting our mission.
For letting us share our success
story with this presentation.
IPEC Mission
To significantly increase student
interest and participation in science
and technology subjects by
incorporating the teaching of
polymers and polymeric materials
into K-12 curricula by utilizing the
combined resources and
infrastructures of the participating
scientific societies.
Polymer Ambassadors
Mission
The Polymer Ambassadors, with
resources from educational,
industrial, and professional
societies, promote polymer
education with teachers, students,
and community audiences.
When do K-12 students
study polymers?
When a teacher is excited about
them.
When a teacher can get the materials
inexpensively.
When the activities fit the State
Science Educational Standards. The
Ambassadors site the Standards for
each activity.
Our Activities
PROMOTING POLYMER EDUCATION
INCLUDES:
Writing laboratory experiments
Performing demonstrations
Organizing workshops
Developing written materials
Maintaining a WEB site
www.polymerambassadors.org
Publishing papers in Journals
Earning Teaching Awards
Some Examples of
Laboratory Experiments
What is a Polymer?
Polymers in Cosmetics
Grow Creatures
Polydensity Tubes
Designer Sneakers
Corn Plastics
Slimes and Snakes
Art in Science
Math Connections
Demonstrations
Joyce, Debbie, Jon,
Andy, and Lynn
Workshops
Barbara, Sue, Sandy, and Vaughn
Recent Published Papers
"Polymer Ambassadors On the WWW", J. of Chemical
Education, June 2006.
"Chemical Bonding Makes a Difference!", J. of Chemical
Education, October 2006.
"Sorting Recycled Trash: An Activity for Earth Day 2007",
J. of Chemical Education, Feb. 2007.
"Polymers in the Field and Track", J. of Chemical
Education, October 2008.
"Impact of Polymers in Impact Sports", J. of Chemical
Education, October 2008.
"POLYMER AMBASSADORS: A Novel Program to Promote
Pre-college Learning about Polymeric Materials", Journal of
Macromolecular Science, Part C: Polymer Reviews, October
2008
Where does the money go?
Purchasing supplies for every workshop
and demonstration.
Travel expenses which include: air fare or
mileage, hotel room, and food.
Shipping of supplies to conventions.
WEB site maintenance.
Books and courses on polymers.
We volunteer our time and effort!
Impact on Polymer Education
The audiences vary but we have about 30+/teachers per session.
With 20 active ambassadors, we impact over
2000 teachers.
Assuming each teacher has 25 students
(elementary) or 125 students (high school),
we can estimate that 140,000 students are
having fun and learning about polymers each
year.
Impact over the years
Ambassadors have been giving
presentations for 18 years.
Our journal publications reach thousands of
readers.
We estimate that our work has
impacted over 1.5 million
students!
One Ambassador is helping with a polymer
exhibit at the Philippine Science Centrum.
Awards and
Recognition
Presidential Award for Science
Teaching – 5 Ambassadors
Ohaus Award – 2 Ambassadors
CMA Catalyst Award – 3 Ambassadors
The Disney Award – 1 Ambassador
The future??
Students having interesting
experiences with polymers may want
to pursue careers in polymers.
Students receiving recognition for
competitions involving polymers
may also pursue careers in the field.
Students reading about current
developments of new polymeric
products may pursue related careers.
We can’t do it without you!