Over the summer and during first semester, Chemistry Club officers worked on a plan that would bring low-stress science competitions to middle school students around the Carmel community.

Chemistry Club plans to have five questions for each competition round mailed to their individual middle schools at the beginning of each month. After collecting and averaging the results on each round, club members plan on picking a winner and giving him or her a small prize. Although Chemistry Club is the main group facilitating the competition, middle school teachers will actually administer the tests.

Iris Yan, Chemistry Club officer and sophomore, said, “The main purpose of this competition is just to get more kids interested in chemistry. It’s a low-stress situation, but it’s still fun and engaging.”

Virginia Kundrat, Chemistry Club sponsor and science teacher, said she agrees in the value of the competition for interesting middle school students.

She said, “Some students really get into things like demonstrations and enjoy seeing those. Others have a more competitive edge, and that tends to spark interest.”

Overall, one of the main reasons why Yan and Kundrat said they like the program is because it bridges the gap between middle and high school.

Yan said, “When I was in middle school, I would have really enjoyed a competition like this because I often didn’t get many chances to branch out and explore what science could be like in my high school years.”