IF Oxford Science and Ideas Festival  

Tom Sizmur
University of Reading
t.sizmur@reading.ac.uk
ECG Bulletin January 2022

On Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th October, Environmental Chemistry Group committee members and volunteers hosted a stand on the topic ‘Oceans and Air’ at the IF Oxford Science and Ideas Festival.
 

The group has contributed to the event for several years, including in 2020, when the festival was organised online. This year, we provided demonstrations including an ocean acidification demonstration using universal indicator and dry ice, a novel method of separating plastics made from different polymer types based on density, the monitoring of air quality using an established sensor network, handheld monitors and homemade analogues, and the abatement of pollutants using a wet scrubber. We also featured a citizen science project with Abingdon schools, and saw 250-300 members of the public, mostly families, visit the stall and take away samplers for simple air monitoring activities at home.