Holiday workshops: Colour chemistry (ages 15–18)

In this workshop students will discover what a colour actually is, understand how objects become coloured, and how chemists can manipulate these aspects to produce dyes and pigments.

The session will begin with a brief overview of light and colour mixing. This leads on to a discussion of how colour arises through removal of specific wavelengths of light, and both additive and subtractive colour mixing. The students then discover how chemical bonding can lead to colour, and they produce both natural and synthetic dyes. The final part of the workshop pitches the students against a ‘real-life’ analytical chemistry scenario during which they will devise their own experiment using aspects of concentration, pH and colourimetry to solve a colourful problem.

This workshop is strictly for 15–18 year-olds and will include a 30 minute lunch break, during which students will be allowed to leave the Ri building. Students should bring lunch and a drink.

Refunds can only be issued for tickets cancelled at least two weeks (14 calendar days) in advance of the event date. Please note that this supersedes our normal event terms and conditions.