Cleaning by Chemical Reaction

Learn how Museum Conservators clean silver artefacts using chemistry instead of abrasive polishing which removes a layer of silver from the object. The knowledge of materials and chemical science is applied to prevent deterioration and damage, and to treat objects in order to retain and preserve an items ascribed values. In this activity students clean a piece of silverware using the Electrolysis of Silver technique which covers redox reactions, reactivity of metals, rates of reaction, catalyst, and presence of an electrolyte.