By Julia Trowbridge, Chemistry Club’s Public Relations Officer
Photos by Julie Trowbridge and Adelle Thompson

Colorado State University’s Chemistry Club and the Department of Chemistry spooked a record number of community members this past Sunday, Oct. 28 with their annual “Halloween Spooktacular Show.” The show brought out around 1,100 community members to enjoy the show and was run by over 40 volunteers, all who really enjoyed the show, said Hannah Hare, a junior chemistry major and Chemistry Club Outreach Coordinator.

Last year’s Halloween show also had a record number of community members at around 500 people coming to enjoy the Halloween show, which means that the number of participants more than doubled this year.

“With the count of 1,100, I think you can assume that more people came than that because that was just what our welcome greeters got from coming through the front door,” Hare said. “We had people going through the back (as well), so the number was probably greater than that, meaning that we more than doubled.”

Hare and Maggie Wellman, a sophomore chemistry major and Chemistry Club Outreach Coordinator, started planning this event with Adelle Thompson, the Department of Chemistry’s Event and Communications Coordinator, at the beginning of this school semester and worked hard to make sure that there were enough interactive activities for everyone to have fun. To prepare for the crowds, Hare and Wellman ordered a significant amount of candy and added new experiments like bubbles that bounce on cotton and an outdoor game section, which were both a hit with the participants.

“I loved hearing how much fun everyone was having,” Hare said. “I think even though maybe we felt overwhelmed by all the stuff going on, all the people who came to our show loved all the stuff going on. They liked that there was so much activity. I think it went really well because everyone who attended had an awesome time.”

The “Halloween Spooktacular show” also featured reptiles from the Zoological Discovery Center from Denver and bugs from CSU’s Entomology Club. The room contained a variety of different reptiles and critters that participants could interact with and learn more about from experts.

“I really like the reptiles, that was really cool,” Wellman said. “I didn’t get to see them last year, I was working tie-dye so I didn’t get to see the reptiles, so I made it a point to go see them. They were cool because they would have the reptiles around their neck and let the kids hold them, and they had a tortoise just walking around the room, hanging out. I thought that was so cool.”

Overall, the “Halloween Spooktacular Show” was deemed a success. With a large amount of interest from the Fort Collins community and the ever-growing community members that partake in the free event, all Chemistry Club and the Department of Chemistry can expect the event to do is grow. With all the time spent into planning the event, getting everything necessary together, and actually running the event, Chemistry Club and the Department of Chemistry is happy to share the wonders of chemistry with the Fort Collins and surrounding communities.

“I think it’s a really fun experience to experience science in a different way because everyone just sits in a classroom to learn chemistry,” Wellman said. “But I think the Halloween Show displays how isopropanol can make colors blend together on a quilting pad and stuff like that. It’s a different way to experience science.”