Which radiates more energy, the sun or a teacher? The hard-working profession will not be surprised to know that the teacher wins hands down, but the amount of the difference is startling. According to Ron Perkins, a long-time chemistry teacher from the United States, a 150-lb teacher radiates over eight million times more energy per pound of bodyweight than our life-sustaining star.

We'll skip the calculations, but Perkins showed that a teacher radiates 17 kilocalories per pound per day, whereas the sun radiates a tiny two millionths. This revelation was just part of a hugely entertaining lecture and demonstration on teaching chemistry given by Perkins as part of the Irish Science Teachers' Association (ISTA) annual conference. The conference took place in the Limerick IT, whose greatly improved facilities were much appreciated by the almost 300 teachers who took part.

Perkins gave a hair-raising account of his introduction to chemistry, which included making gunpowder from ingredients bought in the local store and sending his mother's best saucepan through the kitchen ceiling while making rocket fuel. He admitted that nowadays it would not even be possible to buy the ingredients, but maintained that it was still possible to excite enthusiasm and interest in chemistry students. His own ability to do so has been widely recognised at home in the US - he has won three of the highest awards given there for science teaching.

He demonstrated some safe ways of keeping the students' attention, such as making a coloured liquid from two colourless ones. He also had his audience playing with diffraction grating spectacles which filled the lecture hall with rainbows. Behind all the entertainment, the message was clear. Conveying the fascination of chemistry is more important than teaching formulae.

Another equally entertaining lecture and demonstration was given by Peter Douglas from the University of Wales on photochemistry, the meeting point of chemistry and light. Using a toy car, a doll with photochromic hair that changes colour in the sunlight, a glass baby, light wheels and a whole deskful of equipment, Douglas talked on everything from washing powders to photography.

He showed how light can be generated electrically, thermally and chemically. He poured a laser beam from one beaker to another - good trick that! He demonstrated the uses of light sticks, in passing explaining how these night club toys originated in the Vietnam War. Apparently Vietcong guerrillas used fireflies trapped in jars to see in the jungle at night - the US military asked the scientists to develop an equivalent lighting method for them.

The two talks were part of a conference programme which covered physics, biology, genetics, environment and the natural history of the Burren.

DESPITE the upbeat atmosphere generated by the speakers, it was made clear that Irish chemistry teachers face a raft of problems. The numbers of students taking lower-level chemistry has fallen off over the years, although there are lots of bright students taking higher level, according to Peter Childs of the University of Limerick.

Childs, a former ISTA president, has been involved in educating science teachers for many years, from the days before Thomond College was amalgamated with UL. Among his many initiatives are the schools information centre on the Irish chemical industry at UL, and annual meetings for chemistry teachers.

"One problem is that a new chemistry syllabus has been on the stocks since 1994, but is not yet implemented," he says. "One of the aims of the revision was to make the lower-level course more attractive."

A great problem with the sciences in general is resources and equipment," he told "The amount of money has been cut drastically."

Another problem is the lack of laboratory assistants for teachers. "I visit quite a few schools and there is a massive contrast in the way things are done form school to school," says Childs. "Chemistry teachers are working in quite difficult circumstances, and it takes great personal drive to generate enthusiasm in the students."

One initiative which has been received well is the Magic Show, developed by an American exchange student, which visited about 25 five schools. "In one school the numbers opting for chemistry in the Leaving Cert rose as a direct consequence of the visit, according to their teacher," said Childs.