Thread: Laboratory Safety

Re Safety in the lab: we try and make this as much fun as possible, and offer a 'safety certificate' which the students have to complete 10 tasks to achieve.

They are all fairly short tasks e.g. knowing what to do if theres a fire (this one we do practically - light a small fire using alcohol in a crucible and students have to put it out - usually using sand - which they have to find and transport) and can be fitted in to any lesson with a spare 10 minutes.

Usually we do this with Year 7 ( 11 year olds) and it may take the year to complete. They are always very keen and want to get the certificate, which really helps.

I could let anyone have the list of tasks if that would be of help.

One of our teachers, Steve Brand, wrote the following song that students who don't wear their goggles must sing.

Students want to hear other students sing the song (or want to see them suffer?), so they love to point out students who aren't wearing theig goggles.

The Goggles Song:

Goggles,
you love your goggles,
They will keep your eyes from (stamp your foot) burning out.
So wear your goggles
upon your eyeballs,
Or else you must sing this song. . .

Lee Amosslee
Berkeley High School

At our school, the other chemistry teacher and I are vigilant about safety. We have officially adopted Flinn Scientific's safety policy which BOTH the student and their parent must sign. Then, they must take and pass a safety exam. Only after these two are done can they purchase their goggles. Why do it this way? Our policy is: NO GOGGLES MEANS NO LAB AND NO LAB MEANS A ZERO FOR THE GRADE (labs count just as a test - 100 points).
Before we begin any lab, we do a pre-lab lecture where we instruct all students on the safety hazards, proper use of the safety equipment that they may need for that lab, and any other information they need.
When students get into the lab, they are watched closely for safety violations. If there is an infraction, we issue a ticket (as a policeman would). We have used the Flinn Scientific's ticket book to issue them out. On the first offense, ten points is deducted from their lab grade. On the second offense, twenty-five points is deducted. On the third offense, they are banned from any future labs. We've NEVER (knock on wood) have gotten past the second step.
I'm in no way affiliated with Flinn Scientific, but I strongly urge EVERY science teacher to buy from them. Their prices are a slightly more than some other companies, but everything they sell is safety packed and dated. If you call them with a price from a competitor, they will often match it. Their website is [url]http://www.flinnsci.com[/url] On there, you can order a free catalog which contains MANY valuable safety information sheets, an excellent disposal guide, etc. Also, they give new teacher kits for teachers who have never received their stuff. In the kits is a $25 gift certificate as well as some safety posters and lots of goodies.
Enjoy!!!

I would like to put up safety posters. The few I have found don't pertain to my classroom since I am not doing chemistry, have no chemicals etc. I do work with open flames, electricity, and mechanical hazards. What is a good source for fun, inspiring safety posters?

MA Stoll

You can obtain a set of free safety posters from Flinn Scientific. By the way, this is a really good place to buy science supplies and books; their service is great. I have being ordering from them for years.

Their URL is [url]http://www.flinnsci.com/homepage/findex.html.[/url] Among other freebies, they offer a Student Teacher's Survival Kit. It contains a set of safety posters which, I believe, should be suitable for your science classes. You can place a request online.

Also, I have created my own safety posters using PowerPoint. One more way to do it - give your students an assignment to make safety posters, and choose the best ones.

Good luck!

Flinn has retired that site. How disappointing

Originally Posted by Bitsy Griffin

Flinn has retired that site. How disappointing

Surprisingly, I was able to find their new safety page; here it is:

[url="http://www.flinnsci.com/Sections/Safety/safety.asp"]http://www.flinnsci.com/Sections/Safety/safety.asp[/url]

Hope you find this one helpful. Although I could not locate those free posters anymore, there are now free sets of science activities and demos in Chemistry, Physical Science, Biology and Earth Science. They can be downloaded in .pdf format

Lucy

Thank you Lucy. I'll admit I didn't do much digging

I did think the idea of ready-made safety posters for new teachers would be helpful. I'll spend some time poking around those articles.

Bitsy,

I found those free safety posters from Flinn Scientific. They are offered as a part of a free student teacher survival kit. The URL is below.

[url="http://www.flinnsci.com/Sections/Freebies/flinnFreebies.asp"]http://www.flinnsci.com/Sections/Freebi ... eebies.asp[/url]

Lucy