On September 22nd, 2011, the Jerusalem College of Engineering (JCE) participated in setting the Guinness World Record for the “largest chemistry lesson” in the world. JCE was one of 13 institutions across the country that participated with a chemistry lesson given by Dr. Ruth Sfez, Head of Academic Studies in Chemistry at JCE. This country-wide event was organized by the Israel Ministry of Science and Technology and drew a total of 4,207 participants.
The event was held in commemoration of the first Israeli astronaut, the late Colonel Ilan Ramon and was a reenactment of an experiment performed by Ramon, in 2003, while on the space shuttle Columbia. Upon its reentry into the earth's atmosphere, Columbia disintegrated and all seven astronauts aboard were instantly killed.
The “largest chemistry lesson” was conducted on what is known as “Researchers' Night,” an annual European event aimed at bridging the gap between institutes of science and the public. With the UN General Assembly declaring 2011 as the International Year of Chemistry, this year’s “Researchers' Night” in Israel focused on chemistry.
