Winners of YouTube contest announced by International Year of Chemistry

Ottawa, ON – Winners of the “It’s Chemistry, Eh!?” YouTube contest, aimed at highlighting the exciting contributions of chemistry to society, were announced Friday in celebration of the International Year of Chemistry (IYC 2011). The contest was established as one of the many Canadian IYC activities.

Targeted toward Canadian middle and high school students, numerous submissions from across the country were received, which were diverse in nature and rich in content.

First prize and $2,500 toward further education was awarded to Pascal Turmel and Jonathan Kwok from Vancouver for their video entitled “Combustion’s Not Always Destruction.” Elisha Walker, also from Vancouver, wins second prize for highlighting the chemistry that can be found around us in our daily lives. “Chemical Girl,” submitted by a class from Monterey Middle School in Victoria sang and danced their way to 3rd prize for creativity.

“We were delighted and inspired by the enthusiasm displayed in the submissions we received. These videos absolutely shout how much fun chemistry can be,” says Greg Wilkinson, chair of the IYC communications committee and founder of the YouTube contest.

All video submissions can be viewed at www.iyc2011.ca/youtube.