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The Molecular Educators team created multiple innovative education resources that benefit how students, children, and the public learn organic chemistry. Their work includes interactive technologies that aid in the visualisation of 3D chemical structures and help teach organic chemistry concepts. Additionally, they have created three organic chemistry colouring books and a children鈥檚 activity book that are aimed toward improving scientific literacy among children and non-scientist adults. These readily accessible, interactive educational tools complement traditional approaches to teaching chemistry, which, in turn, improve both the value of chemical education and public perception of organic chemistry.

UCLA Chemistry Professor Neil Garg: 鈥淚t鈥檚 hugely rewarding to know that our resources are helping people to learn across the world, and we鈥檇 like to extend a huge thank you to the 番茄社区 of Chemistry for this wonderful recognition.鈥�

Molecular Educators

Q&A with Molecular Educators

What different strengths did people bring to the Molecular Educators team?
Jason Chari: Our team was made up of a diverse group of individuals from various backgrounds and ages, including children, undergraduate and graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, a chemistry professor, and an expert in information technology. This range of perspectives allowed our team to both understand our target audience and create effective resources to address areas of need in STEM education.

Who have the resources benefitted, and in what ways?
Jason Chari: Our resources have benefitted college-aged students taking general chemistry and organic chemistry by helping to explain challenging concepts in an interactive format. The resources also helped children (and their parents) become interested in science by connecting their favourite things with chemistry. One of the most awesome aspects of our work is that our resources have collectively reached people in more than 165 countries so far. 

What advice would you give to a young person considering a career in chemistry?
Jason Chari: Be open-minded, don鈥檛 be afraid of failing, and seek out opportunities to engage in chemistry in different ways. If you take a class with someone who inspires you, talk to them and see if they can offer you guidance. 

What were the biggest challenges when creating the resources?
Elaina Garg: The hardest part about creating The Organic Colouring Books was taking the tough subject of organic chemistry and turning it into an understandable idea that kids, like my younger siblings, can learn from and enjoy.

What has been the most rewarding part of this project?
Elaina Garg: The most rewarding part of this project was seeing kids all over the world actively learning chemistry and having fun while colouring molecules. Working with my sister and my dad was pretty cool too. 

Why is chemistry important?
Elaina Garg: Chemistry is important because it鈥檚 all around us. It makes up everything and we wouldn鈥檛 survive without it.

What inspires or motivates your team?
Francesca Ippoliti: Our team is motivated by the opportunity to create resources that are fun and interactive, which inspire people of all ages 鈥� and all over the world 鈥� to be excited about chemistry.

What is the importance of making chemical sciences more accessible and/or engaging to both students and the public?
Francesca Ippoliti: As the chemical sciences are often perceived as a daunting and selective field, creating engaging, accessible resources that reach a broad audience can better connect people to chemistry. By helping the public appreciate the importance of chemical sciences, we can increase scientific literacy in our society, which will ultimately help solve major world problems.

How do you see this work developing over the next few years / what is next?
Francesca Ippoliti: Over the next few years, we plan to expand these interactive resources to include educational tools for broader audiences, including high school chemistry students. We also hope to further develop our virtual reality resources as the technology improves. Eventually, we envision expanding our educational initiatives to other fields in the sciences as well.