Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
Howe explained that chemists had “learned how to make synthetic sub-
stances that are better than rubber” because of research “initiated in pure
or fundamental science without thought of immediate commercial appli-
cation and without seeking the answer to any pressing industrial prob-
lem”, a theme further reinforced in a November broadcast when Davis
interviewed U.S. Department of Agriculture chemist E.O. Whittier about
'Wool from Milk'. 66 After each of these programs, listeners could obtain
a free bulletin summarizing the newspaper series or a sample of 'syn-
thetic wool'.
The 'Fabrics for the Future' exhibit continued on tour throughout
1940, shipped to the Princeton University chemistry department that
summer, and on to Maine for a New England Association of Chemistry
Teachers meeting, but the war interrupted any further plans for such
multi-media approaches. 67 Starting in the 1940s, Science Service's ef-
forts began to focus increasingly on science education projects and away
from its news syndication activities, other than through radio.
7. Conclusion
What can the history of Science Service reveal about public images of
chemistry and other parts of science and about how or why scientists
engaged in the popularization process? Was the organization merely a
promotional agent for scientists, or did it play a more complex, subtle
role? Because Science Service, Inc., continued beyond those first de-
cades, and focuses today on science education and the publication of the
small weekly magazine Science News , there has been a tendency to see
the past mirrored in the present, to regard its mission today as reflective
of its initial purposes and approaches.
My research suggests a different interpretation, one that views the
history of Science Service - like that of nations, corporations, scientific
66 Script for 'Adventures in Science', September 11, 1939, p. 5; SIA RU7091, Box 385,
Folder 39. Also see script for 'Adventures in Science', November 20, 1939; SIA
RU7091, Box 386, Folder 4.
67 Science Service attempted to work with Modern Plastics magazine on a similar
“plastics exhibit for newspapers and cooperating department stores”, but that project
never went beyond the planning stages. See correspondence in SIA RU7091, Box
220, Folder 2.
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