National Chemistry Week (NCW) is an outreach program of the American Chemical Society (ACS) and the Office of Community Activities that is designed to enhance public awareness of the contributions chemistry makes to society and our everyday lives. 

National Chemistry Week 1998 marked the beginning of the second decade of the event as well as the start of the International Chemistry Celebration (IChC). During NCW, local sections of ACS engaged thousands of children in demonstration and hands-on activity programs that helped the children better understand the nature and importance of chemistry. Elementary students participated in a poster contest using color changing markers. High school students were challenged to suggest a model for how color changing markers work using the article and laboratory investigation appearing in the October issue of Chem Matters, a magazine for high school students. The product catalog contains items that reflect both the national and international flavor of the events. Items may be ordered through the ACS online store. 

Thank you to everyone who participated in NCW 1998. Volunteers across the country continue to carry out the mission of National Chemistry Week--to reach the public, particularly elementary and secondary school children, with positive messages about chemistry; to make a positive change in the public's impression of chemistry; to offer a mechanism for effectively mobilizing ACS local sections; and to motivate the ACS membership through local section activities. 

For more information about National Chemistry Week please call us toll-free at 1-800-227-5558 or email ncw@acs.org: 
National Chemistry Week Office 
American Chemical Society 
1155 Sixteenth Street, N.W. 
Washington, D.C. 20036 
FAX: (202) 833-7722 

Kathleen Thompson 202-872-6078 
Shirley Ford 202-872-6097