What’s Copenhagen Got To Do With Chemistry Class? Using a Play to Teach the History and Practice of Science

Abstract

Through the reading, study, and performance of Copenhagen, a play by Michael Frayn, chemistry students see the application of nuclear chemistry content, acquire a better understanding of the continuum from scientific research to technology design, and also become aware of the many and varied interrelationships of science with history and humanity. This article describes a method to use the play in a high school chemistry classroom as a vehicle for cross-disciplinary integration of chemistry content through the context of history and the development of scientists as people. Students experience the lives of two scientists, Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg, as they negotiate their academic and personal relationships surrounding basic atomic research during the historical time period surrounding World War II and the creation of the atom bomb. In student group discussions, tangents of discourse move from the various scientists' personalities and the iterative nature of scientific research, to questions of politics, ethics, and morality in a historic context as they discuss, debate, and decide upon ways to present the play so their peers will understand and appreciate the experience.

Specialization, Chemistry, and Poetry: Challenging Chemistry Boundaries

“…Through poetry, some social issues may be addressed (e.g., gender and ethnic prejudice), confronting students with the socio-historical opportunities and constraints acting on the chemistry endeavor. 16 If students are invited to speak as if they were a chemist or an ordinary person, they may feel free to explore the bonds between scientific achievements and other spheres of life, recognizing chemistry as a field of self-expression and social commitment.…”

Using Pop-Culture to Engage Students in the Classroom

“…In several articles, authors describe aspects of popular culture (pop-culture) to teach chemistry using resources that are part of everyday life to engage students more effectively. Chemistry classes have been supplemented with material from arts such as music − (including jazz and opera , ) and paintings − (including fashion art), history, − archeology, − or literature. − As examples, educators illustrated chemistry with a Shakespeare’s play while others found inspiration in detective cases where chemistry was used by the perpetrator of a crime or in their identification. , The chemical references from Ian Fleming’s James Bond series of novels were used to illustrate chemical reactions and substances (sedatives, rocket fuels, etc.). The Harry Potter novel series also offered an opportunity to reproduce wizardry experiments in a chemistry lab (e.g., with invisible and color-changing inks, colored flame in a jam-jar).…”

Bringing in the Bard: Shakespearean Plays as Context for Instrumental Analysis Projects

“…The introduction of chemical concepts in an interdisciplinary context is a creative approach that promotes critical thinking. − Chemistry classes have been supplemented with material from such liberal arts subjects as music, − history, − literature, − performing arts (extended here to include film), − and visual arts. − These examples prompted a redesign of assignments for instrumental analysis. Plays by William Shakespeare were used to provide students with interdisciplinary inspiration for class assignments.…”