Laboratories To Be Open To Public

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31003, 8 March 1966, Page 21

Laboratories To Be Open To Public

To mark 100 years of work in New Zealand, the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research in Christchurch will open its laboratories to the public next week.

The laboratories, on the top floor of the Government buildings in Worcester street, are being transformed into a display centre to show people what goes on there. For the rest of this week scientists will be setting up a series of stands to illustrate the problems they are called on, mainly by Government departments, to investigate. A large section of the display will be devoted to the basic commodities of living—food, water and air. Samples of adulterated food —flies in biscuits, mice taken from bottles of beer, matches in bread, together with various illegal substances induced into foodstuffs to attract the customer, will be shown. Scientific equipment used to determine the presence of less obvious adulterations will be demonstrated. Illustrations of milk samples, their required minimum butterfat content, and the methods of determining this will be shown together with samples of alcoholic beverages and equipment to establish their alcoholic content. Sketches and designs will show the vitamin content in various foods, the use of artificial colouring and information on those colouring agents which are permissible. There will also be information about lipsticks and research into their effects on women. The use of preservatives in foods, particularly meat, will be shown. The function of fluoridation and chlorination of water supplies and their effects will be shown along with a graphic illustration of the causes and effects of smog.

A coin-sorting machine produced last year to separate coins according to their age, a machine which works on the same principle as a lie detector, and a gas-testing machine will be among other exhibits. Scientific methods used by the D.S.I.R. in helping the police solve crime will also be demonstrated. The entire display will open next Monday and continue until March 18.