Lights, Camera, Action! The camera pans out and you are sitting with your lab partner about to mix together some very colorful chemicals in hopes that it will not explode. You pour in the neon pink liquid and you think you hear the boom of doom, but it is just your chemistry teacher tapping on your desk trying to wake you up. 

Despite how most chemistry classes are portrayed in Hollywood, the real thing is something a bit more mundane, and less explosive. While it is mostly math and the occasional lab, you do occasionally get to light things on fire, which is exactly what happened in Mr. Andrew Walsh’s Chemistry class on Thursday, the 19th of October. In this lab students got to light different chemicals on fire, producing a different coloured flame with each one.

Safety is the number one priority when it comes to chemistry labs, especially when teenagers are dealing with fire. 

“When you’re working with a bunsen burner, hair should be tied back, hoodie strings should be tucked in, that way they don’t catch on fire,” Walsh said. “ If something kicks the flame out you should shut the gas off first, let it sizzle a bit before relighting and eyewear of course is a must.” 

After students have been drilled with the safety procedures of being around an open flame, the fun begins. Mr. Walsh believes that many students like Sophomore Lyric Lauf consider this to be the best lab of the year, and here is why. 

“There’s so many cool colors that you just get to see, it is really interesting  and if you follow the safety procedures then your eyes won’t get burnt” Lauf said. “The colors are really spectrecal to see.”

In the end, chemistry may not be the most explosive or dangerous class but so long as safety procedures are followed and you proceed with care, labs can be just as fun as any boom of doom you may see on TV.