Is there smoke without fire? How to grow plants in a sterile environment? Which microorganisms can be found on the surface of the banknotes? These and many other questions received answers during the visit of the Armenian schoolchildren to the Institute of Biomedicine and Pharmacy of the Russian-Armenian University on December 5.

 

More than 40 Armenian schoolchildren visited the laboratories of RAU Institute of Biomedicine and Pharmacy (IBP) and took part in various scientific experiments under the supervision of the professors, laboratory researchers and university students. 
 
Anna Grigoryan, Head of the Department of General and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, emphasized the importance of active interaction with students of grades 7-9 so that they form an idea of what the students of IBP RAU do and what they study. 
 
“For schoolchildren, we have conducted interesting experiments in inorganic chemistry. For instance, the children saw the decomposition of ammonium dichromate, a vivid experience of obtaining a volcano. We have also shown that with the help of chemistry it is possible to create smoke without fire and much more," — she noted.
 
Shushanik Ghazaryan, senior lecturer at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biotechnology of RAU, reckons that schoolchildren have rather a poor idea of what is happening in laboratories. 
 
"The children only grow interested when they visit our laboratories and see that an experiment is a lively and dynamic process. Imagination may flow freely: you need to not only learn biology or chemistry, but also to come up with something new. For example, children had no idea whatsoever that it was possible to grow biological objects in artificial conditions, as well as to carry out analysis," - she shared. 
 
It should be noted that the students of grades 7-9 from schools of Yerevan and Abovyan visited the laboratories of the Department of General and Pharmaceutical Chemistry and the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biotechnology of RAU.

 

 

 

Translated by Christina Hakobyan,
I year Master’s Student in Translation & Interpretation, RAU