Last Friday, Professor Grace Muna went to Discovery Middle School in Granger to advertise science to the children. She was accompanied by some of her past and present research students Stacey Jean-Baptiste, Keon Jones, and Joseph Williamson. Muna and her team let the children perform several mini experiments, but one of their favorites was the production of worms using "worm goo" and "worm activator" available from Steve Spangler Science. The worm goo is an aqueous solution of sodium alginate (a carbohydrate polymer found in seaweed) and the activator is just aqueous calcium chloride (used in pickles). The calcium displaces the sodium and with its greater charge (2+ not 1+) is able to bind strands of polymer together so that they lengthen and thicken to produce a precipitate of sorts that looks like gooey worms!
