Updated Fall 2020
Below, please find a list of ideas we compiled for virtual chapter activities. If you have other ideas you’d like to share with the group, please forward them to us and we would be happy to share them. Or you can always post directly to our Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/
1) Movie Party
Host a club movie night. There are many platforms with built in chat functions that will allow you to connect with each other during the event. One example is the Chrome Extension Netflix Party (https://chrome.google.com/
2) TikTok Competition
Post to PLU facebook group! Join in on the TikTok fun by creating content for an existing TikTok challenge or creating your own challenge and trying to get students at your school to join your challenge. Share on your campus community platform and create a hashtag for them to follow on TikTok. For a chemistry themed twist, try kitchen chemistry demos!
3) Photo Contest
Post to PLU facebook group! Have students share fun and inspiring photos, campus-wide or within a group. Set a new theme daily or weekly such as pet pics, dorm-style door decoration, who is your quarantine fam (introduce family members, roommates, your cat), or most organized desks (bonus: this can also help equip less organized classmates with ideas to improve their own workspaces). Set up a hashtag on social media for everyone to contribute and follow and see which photo gathers up the most likes for a prize.
4) Post a Group Video Lesson
Post to PLU facebook group! Use this time to share your knowledge! Invite group members to record and upload their own instructional videos to share something they care about with the community. One chemistry themed idea would be to prepare a favorite food or drink and present the chemistry behind it.
5) Livestream a Virtual Speaker Event
Gather members in your community together at the same time by hosting a live session, presentation or webinar for chapel, a virtual speaker event, or set up a video conference Q&A session with an alumni of your school to share career and industry insights with current students.
6) Career Prep
Bring in a recruiter to talk about virtual job search strategies. Invite alumni for a Q&A session related to chemistry-related jobs or other opportunities for students with chemistry degrees post-graduation, including graduate school.
7) Virtual Field Trip
Organize a virtual field trip themed around chemistry and science! Many of the world’s most famous museums are offering virtual museum tours to share their incredible collections while promoting social distancing. As a group leader, you can simply pick a deadline, create a virtual field trip and encourage members to attend the tour either at the same time or explore at their own convenience. Depending on museum regulations, you might share and discuss photos, insights and comments on your group feed, or alternatively set up a follow up webinar to host a discussion about the tour.
8) Book Club Connections
Have group members vote on and read a selected book, graphic novel or short story and then meet up for a Lit & Latte discussion. Bring your own questions, feedback and snacks. (Bonus: If your assigned reading has been adapted into a film, ask members to check it out, too (or watch it together at a Netflix Party – see #1) and compare!
9) Guided Wellness Sessions
Help students relax and focus in this stressful time. Gather members together and livestream a calming guided meditation or soothing yoga session hosted by a trained instructor. Or make it a recurring event: Create an extensive wellness series to offer additional classes and workshops.
10) Virtual Trivia Contest
Name that tune! Challenge your group members with fun rounds of trivia. Pick your poison: Current events, politics, history, sports, music, film, or even chemistry!
11) Virtual Board Games
Maintain the recommended social distance while challenging your competitive spirit by organizing an online board game meetup with friends. This is a fun and budget-friendly way to get together and connect with friends and group members you might not know very well yet. Here are some beloved group games that are ideal for virtual gatherings: Settlers of Catan, Dominion, Ticket to Ride, Words with Friends, Code Names, and Pandemic, or browse available games on apps like Tabletop, Pogo or Poki, which provide online arenas for playing board games, just like in real life!
12) Embrace E-Gaming
Connect your group’s gamer members on Discord, a gaming server where you can chat and play games together with friends. Set up your own dedicated server and invite your friends to chat/call within the various text and voice channels you create.
13) Elect Officers
Fall semester is a great time for student organizations to set up elections to select new leaders.
14) Lunch & Learn
Gather your group members together for an informative BYOS session (Bring Your Own Snacks), whether you’re studying for an upcoming exam, planning an event with your team of officers, working together on a collaborative project or inviting a professor or industry pro to give a talk or lead a discussion group.
15) Organize and Share Volunteer Opportunities
Take on volunteer and leadership roles in your community or virtually.
Keep it local: Help with grocery shopping for an elderly neighbor or offer babysitting services to the family next door. Donate money, food or volunteer at local food banks, foster a shelter pet, volunteer with Meals on Wheels or other philanthropic organizations, or lead an on-the-ground effort by organizing a fundraiser to help struggling small businesses or displaced workers in your community.
Expand your outreach: Explore remote volunteer opportunities from the comfort of your home like mentoring or tutoring children in your favorite subject area. Also check out Skype a Scientist!
16) Hold on to end of year traditions
Do you usually host a dinner where you give out superlative awards to your seniors? Keep traditions alive by creating surveys to engage your group members! Virtual gatherings can add meaning and help create lasting memories for your group.