By Lori BODNAR, intern

Student clubs are a fun way to form new friendships with students that have similar interests while learning something new. Although Club Week has already passed, most of the clubs at Crescenta Valley High School are still allowing interested students to join and meetings are held virtually due to the pandemic. Crescenta Valley High School’s Chemistry Club is still meeting virtually and conducting chemistry experiments at home. The club does not have any requirements to join and is open to all CVHS students interested in chemistry or science. The club meets online every other Thursday and uses the Remind app to send messages to members. To join the club, interested students can contact the CVHS Chemistry Club teacher advisor, Julie Patton, at jpatton@gusd.net. The student co-presidents of the Chemistry Club this year are juniors Seon-Jae Yoon and Matthew Jang. Both have been members of the Chemistry Club since their freshmen year.

Exciting experiments are the norm in Chemistry Club.

“My favorite Chemistry Club experiment was making slime,” said Yoon. “I also enjoyed the oxidation reaction turning pennies a different color using vinegar.”

“My favorite Chemistry Club experiment was also making slime in my sophomore year,” added Jang. “It was memorable because people could bond while having fun making slime together and learning the chemical reactions behind the slime-making process.”

Another fun chemistry experiment the Chemistry Club has done is a freezing water bottle experiment. The supercooled water bottle is knocked on the table and the liquid water instantly changes to ice!

Even though the Chemistry Club meetings are all now held virtually the students and their advisor Julie Patton conduct interesting chemical experiments at home using general household materials.

The CVHS Chemistry Club has around 15 members. In addition to the two co-presidents, the other club officers are Vice President Henri Gang, Publicist Araya Costa, Secretary Kyeongseo Jeong, and experiment coordinators Hyun Tae Yang and Nara Sirakian.

The CVHS Chemistry Club will be volunteering at the upcoming Mountain Avenue Elementary School Science Fair on Feb. 26 and will demonstrate chemical reactions that can be done at home, including slime-making, for around 100 elementary school students. The theme for the Mountain Avenue Elementary School Science Fair is, “Scientists Can Do Virtually Anything” and the fair will also be held virtually this year due to the pandemic. Students are submitting science fair projects by video over Flipgrid. The school is hosting a virtual Science Fair Family Night via Zoom for families to see all of the student projects and then participate in fun, “hands-on” science together virtually. The CVHS Chemistry Club will be leading up the “chemistry at home” science activities such as slime-making, the baking soda/vinegar chemical reaction, a physics reaction involving cups and ping pong balls, and making oobleck, a non-Newtonian fluid made from cornstarch and water.

Jang encourages others to join the CVHS Chemistry Club.

“I like that we get to have an environment where we can discuss chemistry and have fun with a group of friends,” he said.

“I enjoy Chemistry Club because we get to complete experiments with friends that we might not do in class,” added Yoon.

Yoon plans on majoring in biochemistry, biophysics or biochemical engineering in college. Jang is interested in pursuing a military career and plans on majoring in finance or economics in college.

Any CVHS student interested in joining the Crescenta Valley High School Chemistry Club can contact the CVHS Chemistry Club teacher advisor, Julie Patton, at jpatton@gusd.net.