More than a dozen Presque Isle High School students got a taste of the college experience at the University of Maine at Presque Isle Tuesday through a chemistry lab hosted by an UMPI professor.
Part of an Advanced Placement Chemistry class at the high school, the group is one of two classes participating in the lesson this spring through the university’s dual enrollment partnership with local high schools.
The students also took a tour of the university while on campus.
“I think it’s a great experience because they should be able to see how this student life on campus [is],” Udaya Jayasundara, assistant professor of chemistry at UMPI, said.
Jayasundara led students through an experiment testing surface tension. The lab demonstrated surface tension through water droplets on the surface of a penny and how the tension can be manipulated with substances like soap or salt — in part explaining why soapy water can clean and salt water cannot.
“In my chemistry teaching, I always try to bring natural things into chemistry, how we relay day-to-day life into chemistry,” Jayasundara said.
The lab gave the primarily upperclass students an opportunity to see how scientific process is implemented at a higher academic level, allowing them to gauge whether it might fit into their future.
“I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do yet personally for a career, so I like to try and experience a little bit of everything,” said Jack Ousby, a Presque Isle junior. “I like science, it’s a fun field and something that I would consider going into … so it’s good to get some hands-on experience.”
Students from Fort Fairfield High School will participate in the same experiment in two weeks.
