Aromatherapy Extraction through Distillation

SAY goodbye to boring Science lessons. Dra. Mukhlisotin., a DBE3 District Facilitator from Ngajuk district in East Java knows just how to do that. She showed students how to extract the essences of plants, to produce the essential oils commonly used in aromatherapy. Through this lesson, students learned the process of making one of the most important ingredients in the basic chemical industry. Through the practical work that involved separation of compounds through distillation, it was hoped to aid students in understanding the separation of substances, the basic technical skills of chemistry, as well as to raise student's awareness of the potential of their environment, community and nation.

The materials used in this practical activity were parts of plants that contain essential oils, such as: flowers, seeds, wood or roots. In this practical activity, kaffir lime leaves and pandan leaves were used because of their strong aroma. Some flowers and nutmeg were also used in this practicum. Through this practical activity students were introduced to the benefits of extraction and distillation in the utilization of natural resources to create industry oriented products.

In principle, distillation is a process of separating the elements of a compound based on their different boiling points. When those objects are boiled in a distiller, the volatile substances (whose boiling points are lower) evaporate faster. The steam is then condensed in a cooler, which then comes out as an aromatic liquid. This liquid is what would be used in aromatherapy. Students were then asked to put their products in an attractive packaging and to discuss problems related to this process.

Learning "Aventures to Developed Countries"

Drs. Ahmad Syaihu, District Facilitator DBE3 Surabaya, tells of his experience in teaching social studies.

IN the social studies lesson on developed countries, I helped the students to create a game that we called 'Adventures to the Developed Countries'. This is a board game that is played by 6 players. Each player get to answer a question related to the developed country in question. Each developed country has 10 question that must be answered by the players. In total, there are 60 questions related to 6 developed countries. For each correct answer player will get 10 points.

At the end of the game each player scored points according to the number of question they got right. The winner was the player who answered all 10 questions correctly and was the first to reach the finishing line. Those who could not answer their questions not only did not earn any points but were given a penalty that was agreed by the other players. Have a try for yourself!