Around 160 pupils in Years 8 and 9 (aged 11-13 years) will be coming from 37 schools for the two-day event held on April 28 and 29.

The festival is one of 50 happening across universities in the UK and Ireland and will take place in the School of Chemical Sciences and Pharmacy (CAP).

The event will see the children taking part in a range of hands-on practical challenges, problem solving tasks and laboratory experiments.  A chemical magic show will also be taking place with interesting and spectacular experiments.

Each day will conclude with a prize-giving ceremony for the winners and runners up of each challenge.

Dr Simon Lancaster, schools Outreach officer in the School of Chemical Sciences and Pharmacy at the University of East Anglia, said: “The school children will be using logic and forensic chemistry to investigate a suspicious death at Saltmarsh Farm and their problem solving skills to make a timer out of slime. This will be a fun opportunity for them to sample the university environment and raise their interest in chemistry.”

Norfolk schools attending the event include Cliff Park High School in Gorleston, King Edward VII School in Kings Lynn, Wymondham High School, North Walsham High School, Norwich High School for Girls and Sewell Park College in Norwich.

Meanwhile St Felix School in Southwold, Ipswich High School for Girls, and the Hartismere High School in Eye, will be travelling from Suffolk.

Schools from Essex include Thurstable School in Tiptree and Colchester Royal Grammar School.

The event is hosted by the Salters’ Institute which was founded in 1918 to assist young chemistry students returning from the war to complete their studies.

Today the institute plays a major role in the support of chemistry teaching, the encouragement of young people to pursue careers in the UK chemical and allied industries, and the promotion of chemical education including the whole area of curriculum development.

The first series of festivals was held in 1991 and over the last eight years more than 22,000 students have experienced the fun of practical chemistry through the events.
To find out more about the Salters’ Festival of Chemistry visit the website here.