FAQs

In the real world, chemistry is often carried out on a small scale - think of a COVID testing kit, an AA battery or forensic science.  In many educational settings, most chemical reactions are carried out on a test tube (or larger) scale, sometimes only because it is traditional or because it was what you used at school or university, rather than because it is the best option.  

Microscale and small-scale techniques (MaSSTs), where anything from a few drops to a few cubic centimetres of reagents are typically used, have a potentially great part to play in experimental work for a number of highly persuasive reasons: they are safer, greener and more inexpensive than traditional-scale techniques and they bring these aspects of chemistry to the attention of students and educators; they bring new opportunities for practical work to students; they make classroom management easier; and they provide the opportunity for better learning from practical work.  One exciting feature is that equipment and methods are easily adapted by teachers and technicians for students with additional needs, allowing all students to get the benefits of high quality experimental chemistry.  Sometimes MaSSTs are an alternative to traditional techniques and sometimes they are a perfect complement or an exciting addition - we would be delighted if you would be willing to share your ideas in this area with all attendees during a presentation.  

If you are looking for to improve the experimental work your students do, and the amount of chemistry they learn from it, finding out more about MaSSTs at 13ISMC26 will be for you.  

This conference is for everyone involved in chemistry education.  There will be teachers, technicians, academics and others who work in chemical education (for example exam board representatives and equipment suppliers) and they will be from the UK and many different countries overseas.  The point of the ISMC conferences is to promote better chemical education by sharing knowledge about great practical work in the form of microscale activities.  Many ideas about MaSSTs have come not from universities or research, but from the desire of technicians and teachers to improve safety and to make chemistry work better for their students.  If you have been using and developing MaSSTs on the front lines of education, we would love you to contribute to the conference.  

If you do any microscale chemistry, this conference is definitely for you - even if you have only dipped a toe in the microscale world previously, you are already a trailblazer.  If you haven't yet tried it, but you like the idea of better, quicker, safer, greener and more meaningful practical work as part of chemistry education, this conference is also for you.  

Some of you may be using MaSSTs already and be unsure if you have something original or important to present.  You do!  Even if the same idea appears several different times, there will always be different points of emphasis and unique adaptations to different environments, different students and different curriculaI - we can all learn from these.  And, in the spirit of microscale, small contributions can be mighty.  

Yes.  We are excited to receive all proposals and we hope to pack the conference schedule with as many great ideas as we can.  

There will be many things going on.  

There will be talks from teachers, technicians and academics during which they share their ideas and experiences.  

There will be lectures from invited keynote speakers and international experts.  

There will be workshops in labs during which you will have the chance to get your hands on microscale activities.  

There will be exhibitions, at which many people will have photos, equipment, teaching resources and more on show.  

There will be a poster display (and prizes for the best posters) where people will show what they do with microscale chemistry in the classroom, in the prep room and beyond. There will be time in the schedule to meet the authors of posters and to talk to them about their work.  

There will be time to mingle and make connections with other chemistry education professionals and microscale experts, enthusiasts and trailblazers.  

There will also be social events in the evenings, provisionally to include a dinner, a quiz and a boat ride through London.  

At a workshop, which will be hosted in one of the school's chemistry labs, presenters will demonstrate or guide a number of attendees (limited to 24 per session) through a practical activity.  Workshops will last up to 60 minutes.  This will be an opportunity for attendees to get some practical experience of MaSSTs in action.  

Talks will be hosted in a lecture theatre where a large number of attendees will be able to join.  Talks will last for 20 minutes and are a great way for presenters to share their ideas quickly and efficiently with a large audience.  It won't be possible to include physical demonstrations or practical elements in a talk, but pictures, videos, explanations and stories will all be very welcome.  The lecture theatre will be equipped with IT facilities, including large screens for presenters to show their slides or visual aids.  

We suspect that presenters will have many good ideas that they will want to share with attendees, but which perhaps won't fit perfectly with a talk, poster or workshop.  Throughout the conference, some lab space will be given over to an exhibition at which presenters can construct a display for attendees to browse at their leisure.  This is a bit like the poster option, but the number of things that could constitute a display is greater.  A display could be a piece of equipment or an experiment (provided it can be safely left unattended) or a model; it could be some microscale teaching resources, like class worksheets or documentation; it could be a collection of photos of MaSSTs in action; it could be a how-to-make-it guide; or it could be something else of your imagining.  

St Paul's School is located near many London accommodation options.  A small variety of options, at a variety of different tariffs, is displayed on the Venue page.  St Paul's is easily accessible by car and London's public transport network meaning travelling to the conference from many places will be straightforward.  

A very limited number of rooms in the school's boarding house be made available once conference registration opens (in early 2026).  

We hope to make this conference the best value three-day chemistry conference you will ever find.  One-, two- and three-day tickets will be available at registration (opening early in 2026).  We hope the cost of a three-day ticket will be less than £50, to include conference materials, lunch and refreshments.  We also hope to be able to offer discounts for any attendees or presenters working in the UK maintained education sector.  

The RSC offers Technician Travel and Training grants of up to £500 for its technician members to attend conferences and workshops.  The 13ISMC26 would be eligible under the first round of funding in 2026.  

The RSC also offers Chemistry Education Conference bursaries of up to £500 for its members who work in schools, colleges or universities to attend conferences and workshops.  The deadlines for applications fall in the first half of 2026.  

Members of the RSC Secondary and Further Education interest group offer a limited number of bursaries of up to £200 to attend workshops and conferences.  The next application deadline is 24 October 2025 and the application form is here.  

We encourage attendees and presenters to wear what will make them feel comfortable.  London in July can be hot or cool and wet or dry.  If you intend to take part in workshops, wear what you would usually wear in a lab.  The school will provide any necessary personal protective equipment.  

If you propose a workshop and are invited to present (invitations will be issued in spring 2026), you will be asked to complete a short risk assessment, which will be vetted by CLEAPSS.  

Although the school has prep room facilities, it will not be possible to offer technical assistance to most presenters.  The chemistry labs have gas taps (methane) and sinks in all practical work areas.  Personal protective equipment will be provided by the school, as will distilled water, if needed; the school also has typical school lab equipment, like Bunsen burners, which can be made available by arrangement.  

For UK presenters, we ask that you bring all equipment and chemicals you will need for the workshop.  For overseas presenters, it may be possible for the school to assist with providing some liquids/solutions which might otherwise be problematic to bring.  

You would be most welcome to attend in any of several different capacities.  If you want to present - in the form of a talk, workshop, poster or exhibition display - please make a proposal.  

If you would be interested in hosting a trade stand during the conference, please get in touch with the organising committee at 13ismc26@gmail.com.  

If you would be interested in supporting or sponsoring the conference, this could take a number of forms: we would welcome any kind of financial contribution that would help to make the conference open to the widest-possible number of attendees; we would also welcome contributions in kind, for example materials and items for the conference bags that will be given to all attendees as part of the conference ticket.  Again, please get in touch with the organising committee at 13ismc26@gmail.com to discuss this further.  

Yes you can.  If you can send us a poster to display, we hope to be able to display it to let everyone see your good work.