By Lauren Nguyen, Staff Writer
On October 23 at 6:02 a.m., chemistry students arrived at school to partake in a loud celebration that took place in the science and business halls of Fountain Valley High School (FVHS). The celebration was an event that took place in honor of Avogadro’s unit, the mol. Hosted by all the chemistry teachers, all Advanced Placement Chemistry and chemistry students were welcome to join the early morning party.
The party was an opportunity for students to gain 10 extra credit points by creating a mole-related project and bringing it in at 6:02 a.m. Approximately 100 students showed up at the event with most staying to enjoy the food and a few students dropping in quickly only to return home in the hopes of gaining a few more hours of sleep. They brought in a multitude (a mole-titude) of quirky posters, an overwhelming abundance of food and other fascinating projects—one student chose to stitch a Bob “Moley” stuffed mole while another chose to revamp the original Monopoly board, making it mole-themed.
The end of the science hall in front of chemistry teacher Mike Olsberg’s classroom was packed with chemistry students huddling around two long tables fully covered with student-made, mole-themed treats. The wide variety of food items that spanned over two tables included molar breakfast bars, caramel covered apples, water-mole-ns and guaca-mole with chips. The majority of the foods, however, were made up of cookies, cupcakes, and brownies. Posters created by the students were posted throughout the walls of the hallway. Inside the classroom, students munched on sugary treats and got into the spirit of the holiday as the tunes of mole-day songs resonated from the speakers.
“It’s a good way of celebrating chemistry equations,” says Elyssa Phan (’20), a student in Jake Lee’s chemistry class. “Aside from having to wake up really early in the morning, the experience was really fun.”
As the beginning of zero period rolled around and the sun came up, students who had zero period classes ate their last pieces of food before dispersing while others remained in the classroom to study and chill out.
By third period, much of the food had been cleared away along with one of the tables. However, crumbs and small pieces of trash still remained on the floor, evidence of the celebration that had happened in the early hours of dawn.
This year’s mole day festivities were not the first and considering the number of students who participated, it won’t be the last. The annual celebration is a tradition that has been carried on by decades of science teachers.
“I had the previous teachers who taught here, they made me say we got to do this, we got to keep this tradition up, and I rolled my eyes at the time, but now, I see the usefulness in raising awareness of a simple number to the students. I plan on [continuing the tradition],” says Olsberg.
The gathering was as much of a party as it was an great extra credit opportunity and students who attended accordingly received 10 additional points tacked onto their grade. Indeed a successful event, students interested in joining the celebration next year when it comes around should mark this special date on their calendars
