Part-18, August 29, 2007 Some experiences in the Science labs I was a demonstrator of science experiments in the school. I had to do demonstrations to the students of different levels- ranging from class-VI to class-X. So there were all kinds of experiments. Some were very simple where as some others were precise and of higher quality. The routine was tightly packed as there were several sections in each class and there were several grades to be brought to the lab. The days were going well. One day, I had to demonstrate the reaction between sodium and water to the six graders. The teacher brought his students to the lab. There were about forty students standing around the demonstration table. I cut a piece of sodium from the storage bottle using a knife and put that on the top of the demonstration table. The teacher had already taught about it in the class. I mean the students had knowledge about the reaction between sodium and water. I asked them what would happen when I poured water on the sodium piece. They responded correctly but probably they had no idea how loud would the explosion be! I poured a little water on the sodium piece. It exploded instantaneously with a loud bang burning a hole on the top of the table. Unfortunately, one of the students became unconscious and she was about to fall on the floor before somebody supported her and prevented from falling. After sometime, she regained her consciousness. This bang was so loud that other teachers from the ground floor climbed to the lab which was on the fourth floor. The next morning the principal of the school called me to his office and asked me about the incident that took place on the lab the previous day. I knew that the parents of the girl who fell unconscious had complained about the safety in the lab! Anyway, it was the first and last time that happened something bad in the science lab during my teaching in that school!