Enhancing Undergraduate Chemistry Education through Incorporation of Art-based Experiments

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Chemistry (12)This project is developing a chemistry of art course for non-science majors, an analytical chemistry of art course for upper-level chemistry majors and a special topics in art course for art majors. The courses develop students' understanding of the chemistry and analytical techniques using tools of analytical chemistry (UV-Vis, FT-IR, Raman, GC-MS, XRF). The project is structured around a synergistic exchange of expertise among analytical chemists, anthropologists, and art historians. Through this exchange, broader impacts are being realized on both sides. The goals of the project include: 1) creating and promoting an option for non-science majors, particularly art and anthropology majors, to increase their understanding of chemistry and its relevance to and uses in these fields, especially in art restoration and conservation, 2) increasing non-science majors' appreciation of chemistry and scientific literacy more generally, 3) developing chemistry students' understanding of and skills in using both classic and modern analytical instrumentation, and 4) increasing chemistry students' appreciation for the use of analytical chemistry techniques in non-science disciplines. Sixteen laboratory activities, many of which are original, with variations for non-science and chemistry majors for five of them, are being developed, using Raman spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence applied to problems of interest in art, anthropology, archaeology, and history. These activities are being shared through presentations at chemistry, art conservation, and archaeology conferences and professional society meetings, and through publication in chemical education, anthropology and art education journals. The project also is generating insights into how to bridge across content domains whose cultures and problems of interest seem disparate. The PI team is sharing these insights with a broader community through presentations at professional meetings. The project integrates external evaluation expertise in studying the extent to which the goals are attained, and relationships between the work executed as part of this project and the project's goals.