More Than 1,200 Virginia Students Participate in You Be the Chemist® Challenge Sponsored by NACD

ARLINGTON, Va., March 27, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 1,200 students from the State of Virginia are set to participate this year in the You Be The Chemist Challenge® (Challenge) at the local and state level. The National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD) is pleased to announce its sponsorship of the Loudoun County, Fairfax County and Virginia State Challenge competitions.

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At these chemistry competitions, students compete against one another in the You Be The Chemist Challenge® (Challenge) – an academic question and answer competition created by the Chemical Educational Foundation® (CEF). The Challenge competition aims to engage grade 5-8 students in chemistry through a dynamic event that partners members of the chemical industry with schools and organizations in the communities in which they operate.

The winners of the Fairfax, Loudoun and Suffolk County local Challenges will advance to the Virginia State Challenge on April 27 at BASF Corporation in Suffolk, VA. The winner of the state competition will move on to compete in the National Challenge held in Philadelphia, PA, on June 24 at the Kimmel Center. There they will compete with state representatives from across the country for the title of 2012-2013 National You Be The Chemist Challenge® Champion.

On March 19, 2013 middle school students from Edlin School and Spring Hill Elementary showed off their knowledge of chemistry concepts, important discoveries, and chemical safety awareness at the first Challenge to take place in Fairfax Country. Five students from the Fairfax Country Challenge will move on to compete in the VA State Challenge.

Seven schools will be competing in the Loudoun County Challenge on April 4, 2013 at the Harper Park Middle School. Five students from Loudoun County will also move on to the VA State Challenge.

"The Chemical Educational Foundation has inspired America's youth for close to twenty-five years on the fascinating world of chemistry and how chemistry applies to their everyday lives.  This understanding allows them to gain a greater appreciation of how chemistry and chemicals will continue to shape their world," stated NACD's President Chris Jahn. "NACD is pleased to sponsor the Virginia Challenges as well as the National Challenge later this Spring." 

For more information about the competition, please visit the CEF website at www.chemed.org.

NACD and its over 400 member companies are vital to the chemical supply chain providing products to over 750,000 end users. They make a delivery every six seconds while maintaining a safety record that is more than twice as good as all manufacturing combined. NACD members are leaders in health, safety, security, and environmental performance through implementation of Responsible Distribution, established in 1991 as a condition of membership and a third-party verified management practice. For additional information on our members, their safety record or NACD, visit NACD at www.nacd.com.

About the Chemical Educational Foundation
Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Arlington, VA, the Chemical Educational Foundation® works closely with industry to enhance science education opportunities for our youth and their educators through the You Be The Chemist^® programs.

Contact: Lucinda Schofer
703/527-6223 (NACD)

SOURCE National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD)