From Periodic Table to Paint: Alapere Students Put Chemistry to Work

Students at Comprehensive Senior High School, Alapere, Ketu, have demonstrated how classroom chemistry connects with everyday products, presenting soaps, detergents, paints and creams at the school’s Chemistry Challenge Day.

The programme combined practical demonstrations with interactive learning under the theme “Periodic Table Mastery: The Foundation of Chemistry Excellence and Innovation.”

For the school’s chemistry educator and event convener, Mrs Fausiat Akindele, the aim was to tackle a familiar classroom barrier: students seeing chemistry as difficult and abstract, despite encountering its applications every day.

She pointed to cooking, sanitation, medicine, agriculture, construction and manufacturing as examples of how the subject extends beyond textbooks. The initiative, she said, was designed to improve understanding and academic performance while developing creativity, entrepreneurial skills and problem-solving abilities.

A lecturer at Yaba College of Technology, Dr Oluseun Popoola, commended the students’ presentation of the periodic table, saying practical learning could make chemistry easier to understand.

Speaking on “Building Your Future Through School,” she encouraged students to combine formal education with vocational and digital skills, stressing the continuing value of learning.

The school’s principal, Mr Adesanmi Olumuyiwa Adedeji, credited science teachers with helping students develop the knowledge and skills displayed at the event.

He encouraged students to ask questions and apply what they had learnt, while urging teachers to sustain the programme as a school tradition.

Mr Abdul-Gafar Adeleye Tijani, introduced as a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Chemists, spoke on chemistry’s industrial applications. Drawing on his professional experience, he outlined career opportunities and encouraged students to explore the field.

The students’ products gave the programme a practical focus. The next measure of its impact will be whether those demonstrations become regular opportunities for pupils to experiment, test their understanding and develop their ideas.