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<p>DALLAS &#8212; What happens when methanol is mixed with barium chloride?</p><p>It creates a bright red flame that seems almost like something from a movie.</p><p>This experiment and others entertained approximately 50 elementary school students at the Back Mountain Library on Saturday.</p><p>Seven chemistry students from Misericordia University volunteered to put on the demonstration, setting up five displays and conducting experiments. The seven students included Chemistry Club President Victoria Bednar, Matthew Sommers, Rachel McCormick, Mia Havasi, Kristin Westervelt and Melissa Bostjanic.</p><p>&#8220;We wanted to expose children to science experiments they would not normally see in high school,&#8221; Bednar said.</p><p>The students did that by expanding marshmallows in a vacuum sealer, making slime and foam, melting plastic foam cups and more.</p><p>&#8220;Chemistry can be immensely amazing,&#8221; Bednar said. &#8220;I love my chem.&#8221;</p><p>Kelly Flanagan brought her three children &#8212; Rachael, 8, and twin boys Patrick and Christopher, 6 &#8212; to the event because the library consistently has &#8220;programs that are fun and interesting.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Saturday&#8217;s event gave the kids a chance to learn science with marshmallow. &#8230; Who gets to do that?&#8221; she joked.</p><p>Mike Burns, brought his son, Ethan, 6, because Ethan has already shown an interest in science.</p><p>&#8220;This was a great opportunity for him to get hands-on experience in science,&#8221; Burns said. &#8220;What impressed him the most was making the slime. He was beside himself.&#8221;</p><p>Anna Fedor, chemistry department head at Misericordia, said the students were there as part of an outreach activity service project for the Chemistry Club. The activities were &#8220;geared more toward children to interest them in science,&#8221; she added.</p><p>Children&#8217;s and Young Adult Librarian Janet Bauman said the university supports the library on a regular basis.</p><p>&#8220;They are easy to work with,&#8221; Bauman. &#8220;Just email them and they send students down to conduct a program.&#8221;</p><p>One of the objectives on Saturday was to keep children interested during the school year, Bauman said.</p><p>&#8220;They come in droves in the summer but not during the school year,&#8221; Bauman said. &#8220;Events like Saturday&#8217;s give them a chance to learn about the resources available at the library for not only their educational needs but also enjoyment all year long.&#8221;</p><p>Bauman expects to conduct similar programs in the near future because of the turnout on Saturday. She advises interested parents to visit the backmountainlibrary.org for upcoming events.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Mia Havasi from Misericordia University, right, shows children at the Back Mountain Memorial Library an experiment Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/web1_TTL-11152015-Experiment-21.jpg</photo0><caption0>Mia Havasi from Misericordia University, right, shows children at the Back Mountain Memorial Library an experiment Saturday. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Ralph Nardone</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach the Times Leader newsroom at 570-829-7242 or on Twitter @TLnews.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Misericordia students put on science show for grade-schoolers at Back Mountain Library