Peter Childs' Home Page
Chemistry in Action

Fáilte! Welcome!

I currently teach chemistry (inorganic, environmental, solid state) at the University of Limerick in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Science and I am also involved in training science teachers at UL and in various aspects of chemical education. On this site you can find information and resources on my activities relating to the teaching and promotion of chemistry and on the Irish Chemical Industry. Click on the links will give you more information on these activities.

I have been producing Chemistry in Action since 1980 and May 2000 marked its 20th birthday and 60th issue.

ChemEd-Ireland is a one day annual conference for Irish chemistry teachers on some aspect of chemistry/chemical education and has been running since 1982. Proceedings are published in Chemistry in Action!.

In 1989 I launched the Schools Information Centre on the Irish Chemical Industry (SICICI) with the support of a number of Irish chemical companies. I run Industry Study Tours as one of its activities, some run in conjunction with the RSC. SICICI aims to provide information and resources on the chemical industry in Ireland for Irish Chemistry teachers. I am also involved in chemical education research, for example the Promotion of Chemistry in Schools Project (PCSP).

I am also interested in the history of chemistry and the language of chemistry: Chemical Classics is a reprint of classic books and articles, including Liebig's Familiar Letters on Chemistry and Faraday's Chemical History of a Candle. I write a regular column in Education in Chemistry called Chemlingo which looks at the language of chemistry. The site also includes useful links for chemistry teachers, particularly Irish teachers.

At the University of Limerick I am also involved in producing ELEMENTS magazine to promote science and technology in schools, and with the Irish Bible School in producing the Irish Bible School Journal. I am also involved in organising the annual Science Week Ireland through the College of Science.

Web Site Maintained By Darina Slattery,

Dept. of Computer Science & Information Systems,

University of Limerick.

(December 2000)