Assessment Centres: Advantages and Disadvantages

Assessment Centres: Advantages and Disadvantages Assessment centres were introduced at the middle of the 20th century. It also gives the idea and use of assessment centre. It uses to check the ability and skills of the employees. History of assessment centres explore, how and why assessment centres help us to appreciate, what the original user were trying to get and how can be assessed the skills, attitudes, personal skills and abilities as well as knowledge of the participants with the help of interview, exercises and leading practice. Basically, the origin of assessment centres started for the selection of the soldier in the Germany. That time there was a great frustration between the boundaries of the countries due to the atmosphere of the war, and every country wanted to get Prestige on the other countries. So, assessment centres used to check the ability and quality of the employees, and referred the position according to his knowledge and capabilities. We can be seen certain example throughout the history. Germany used to check the ability and performance to select the officers. In the book Spies and Saboteurs, by Dr W.J.Morgan (1955, London Victor Gollancz Ltd), the author describe how a German psychologist, Dr Simoneit watched officer performing a variety of tasks. The duties of assessment centres were to check the abilities thorough different implications of test and exercises. It also checked the rate and standard of the officers and according to this, the promotions have been announced by the army. This process had been started because; it showed the performance and their promotions. It also explored the certain reasons, why certain offices did not reveal or proceed in the way. They would have been promoted once. After this, the assessment centres emerged from Germany to USA. USA was one of the fast growing economies and USA used to judge the ability of the spy. It also used select the officers for intelligence. For checking of mental ability of officers they used further research of psychological and scientific method had been to add the work by assessment centres. The concept of assessment centres populated in different economy from one side of the world to another part of the world. British Government checks the qualities of on board selection committee and testing method. British government added more tests and exercises analysing the capability, British were pioneers to add the physical and psychological tests during an interviews and selections for employees. Dr WJ Morgan illustrates that it is how you performed your tasks, whether as an individual or within a group, that matters not how quickly an exercise was done. With the passage of the time, it growth and, different business have been adopted by different countries. Then most businesses used the assessment centres to assessing the hold jobs to employees. But sometimes man has more ability but at the position sometimes, it can be showed by an organisation. In this matter the assessment centres help the organisation as well as to emerged the capabilities of the employees and the employees have better opportunities to do best. It is right that an assessment centres started for militaries bias to check the abilities but now it very common in between every aspect of the life such as businesses and other public service as well. Now in this era, there is a great competition in the world, so, it is not easy task to check the capabilities of any employees. So in this matter assessment centres is helpful to check the abilities and capabilities through the interviews and exercises the personality of the employees. (http://www.psychometric-success.com/faq/faq-assessment-centre-origin.htm) INTRODUCTION OF ASSESSMENT CENTERS: An Assessment Centres does not refer to a location, DEFINE ASSESSMENT CENTERS : It can be usefully defined as A method for assessing aptitude and performance; applied to a group of participants by trained assessors using various aptitude diagnostic processes in order to obtain information about applicants abilities or development potential. Assessment Centres are mostly utilized in the initial stages of the selection process; this is due large amount of time and expenditure involved in it. This is followed by initial job interview. Assessment centres involve assembling in one place several candidates who applying for the same position and putting them through a variety of different tests. They can be operated over one day, but usually involve an overnight stay. Assessment Centres are seen as one of the most effective ways of identifying top candidates wholl get on well with others and fit in with the organizations culture. According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Developments Recruitment, Retention and Turnover 2009 Survey, 34% of employers now use assessment Centres when recruiting managers, professionals and graduates. (http://www.psychometric-success.com/psychometric-tests/psychometric-tests-assessment-centers.htm) IMPLEMENTATION OF ASSESSMENT CENTERS: Implementation of assessment centres should be carried out properly. When the structure and content of the assessment centre have been established, the issues involved are organising, managing and giving proper direction. The assessment centres should have a range of activities that allow candidates to demonstrate teach competency more than once during the course of the centre. The range of activities should considered exercises that sample job content and mirror real-life situations. The assessment centres should have different department heads which can manage too many candidates or too many exercises and maintain a sensible ratio of assessors to candidates. The assessment centres should have proper clear goal in mind so that they achieve the success. Adopt a competency-based approach with assessment criteria appropriate to the target role. Training is necessary for assessors in technical areas, such as observation and interview techniques, and raises their awareness of diversity issues. Feedback should be given to both the successful as well as unsuccessful candidates. The assessment centres activities should regularly refresh to avoid over-familiarity on the part of candidates and assessors. DESIGN OF A SUCCESSFUL ASSESSMENT CENTER: The successful assessment centre is well defined on how well it has been designed. Before designing its best to review the nature and purpose of an assessment centre. The important feature is to consider the skills and abilities assessed are actually relevant to the job in question. An assessment centre is a step further in selection procedure, it is held either on employers premises or in a hotel, which normally lasts one or two days. The process which usually involves in designing is as follows: While designing the assessment centre the time duration of the centre is taken into consideration. For instance, for senior most people, one day might not be sufficient. The second most important criteria is the location of the assessment centre, which deals with the proper surroundings and accessibility for candidates. Create a Task list and match with roles and goals given by the company. Create a questionnaire related to the task list. Use the competencies well through knowledge and skills. DIFFERENT TYPES OF COMPETENCIES: Different competencies generally are developed as framework to be used as a reference or resource. The purpose of the resources database is to assist users to identify the many existing competency-based resources currently in use. The database is not exhaustive, but contains numerous examples of the resources that were tapped to identify competencies in the development of the high growth industries. A competency is demonstrated or mastered in a job and can be easily transferred to another job. These resources generally contain descriptive information about the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for success in the field. Managerial Competencies: The competencies which are considered to be important for staff with managerial or supervisory responsibility with sizeable budget to manage, which includes directors and senior posts. Some managerial competencies could be more relevant for specific fields; however they are applied in the organization. These competencies include: 1) Team leadership 2) Change management 3) Analysis and decision-making. 4) Interpersonal sensitivity. Technical/ Functional Competencies: Some specific competencies which are taken into consideration to perform any job in the organisation within a defined technical or functional area of work. Those competencies are as follows: 1) Industrial process sectors. 2) Finance and administration 3) Human resource management and environmental management. Generic Competencies: Competencies which are considered essential for all staff, regardless of their function or level include: 1) Communication programme execution. 2) Processing tools. 3) Business awareness. 4) Achievement and motivation. STEPS INVOLVED FOR SUCCESSFUL ASSESSMENT CENTRE: The assessment centre should be very clear about the objectives. They should have a proper planning and organising of all the departments which are involved with them for two or three days. The assessor should look for different competencies which are being evaluated in the assessment centre. When the assessor is assessing the candidates working environment is taken into consideration. The assessment centres should be well known for their good and different variety of exercise so that the candidates feel motivated. The vital step involved for successful assessment centre is giving feedback to everybody. Successful as well as those candidates who did not get selected. MAIN ELEMENTS OF ASSEMENTS CENTERS: Elements of assessment centres are used in anglicising and zeroing in on relevant behaviours to be assessed and evaluated. The assessment centre use different exercises and techniques to select or assess the candidates. The assessor carefully examines the candidates while the candidates are doing exercises, on the bases of performance the candidate which has potential or capable for the job they got selected. The assessors who are selected for conducting interview they are trained, the assessor must be external of the organisation or the organisation needs to hire them or it should be from organisation itself like the HR managers. The assessor observes the candidates and records the observed behaviour of the participants. The assessment centre does job analyses before conducting interviews. There are seven important element of the assessment centre: PRESENTATION: In the interview process this is the most important exercise because the assessor or the management team will assess the candidates, in this exercise the candidate gets a topic and they have to prepare that topic in specific time and that topics are highly job specific. The candidates shows their communication skills, problem solving skills, and confidence level, how they interact with the assessor. GROUP INTERVIEWS: The purpose of the group interview in the assessment centre exercises is to observe candidates interpersonal skills and personality when he or she is working with other people in a group. After the group interview, the assessors reduced the number of candidates and one-on- one interview is set up. The important employers working in organisation can check the candidates interactions with other people. In the group interview the employees give the candidates a task to solve hypothetical problems in order to work in a group. 3) IN-TRAY EXERCISES: In this kind of exercises the employers involves the candidates in some paperwork from the role in question and asking them to deal with it. The in-tray exercise items will be specifically designed to measure job skills such as: ability to organise and prioritize work; analytically skills, written communication skills, and their delegation. In-tray exercise are the most vital components of assessment centres, not only because of variety of skills, attitudes and knowledge can be judged but because this exercise also has considerable face validity. In this way the candidate can see how it relates to the job they are applying for and therefore they tend to take it seriously. 4) ROLE-PLAYS: Role play is a type of assessment centre exercise which offers a chance to place candidates in the kind of situation. In role play the candidates get the role of employee who has to resolve the problems of the customer. In this exercise the management team assess the candidates who have problem solving skills and see that how they communicate in that situation and how they can handle. The assessor usually plays the role of the customer and the candidates play the role of the employee. 5) PSYCHOMETRIC EXERCISE: Psychometric test assess the ability and personality test, the assessment centre hire the professional assessor it is expensive. The external assessor are qualified, they can manage the recruitment process, interpret results and give feedback to the candidates so they can know about their strength and their weakness. The two types of psychometric tests: ABILITY TEST: The rough ability test, it can be checked that and purified the ability of the employees by assessment centres. It is also helpful to check the skills and ability for the vacancy. Ability testing is a very common and effective selection tool, particularly for identifying unsuitable candidates. PERSONALITY TEST: The personality assessment provides the evidences and direct selection process. It also highlights the area where candidate can work. Personality assessment also provides the opportunity to glimpse in the candidates personality during the interview. Personal questionnaire is important to provide feedback for candidates as well as it also helps to understand the personal profile of the candidate. The feedback session is the best idea for decision making process for any position. Personality test remains contentious but is widely used in United Kingdom. GROUP EXERCISE: Interpersonal competency is usually tested by means of variety of group exercises that a group of four or five candidates carry out together. The aim in group exercise is to allow assessors to observe how each candidate behaves in relation to the others. Here the leadership qualities are anglicised and the negotiating skills of the candidates. Some assessment centres give groups some task to complete, which include management games more commonly used for developmental purposes. EVALUATIONS OF ASSESSMENT CENTRES: The selection and decision for hiring and promotion of the employees can be made by evaluation of assessment centre. Assessment centres also identify the training and development according to requirements and needs of vacancies or positions. The most essential characteristic of assessment centre is to evaluate participants potential and management skills. The emphasis is to identity the selection and promotion decisions of participants are on the basis of essential job performance dimensions. Deficiencies on critical job dimensions of participants can be anglicised by using training and development purposes. The feedback and employee development suggestions that result from an assessment form the basis for training programs that are designed to correct performance problems. In an organisation assessment centers can serves as needs assessment programs that identify employee development and hiring needs. ASSESSORS: In the assessment centers the role of an assessor is very vital. The assessors are given their own briefing packs. These packs contain description of the exercise and a list of the behaviors or answers that they should be looking for. Organisation usually recruit trained additional assessors if required for selection process, however trained internal assessor are used from the centre. This comprises a combination of HR specialists with experience in assessment techniques and line managers. CANDIDATES: Here the candidates are also presented with the briefing pack which contains the objectives of task and any information required to complete it. In each exercise, candidates are rated independently by two or more assessors, using behavioral scales for each competency being assessed. TEST VALIDITY: ADVANTAGES OF ASSESSMENT CENTERS: The most important advantage of an assessment is their flexibility. They are not time-restricted as interviews. The data which is collected by the assessment center helps them to recruit the right candidates for the right position; by this process the reliability and validity of the selection decision is improved. The assessment centers which are designed well provide evidence of the most valid method of predicting a candidates performance in a job. The way in which the assessment center collects data is the most fair and objective to make recruitment decision. Assessment center improves planning and administration. Now a days many organisation choose assessment center for recruiting large number of candidates because to avoid juggling interviews and managing the recruitment process. Assessment centers apply these for recruitment such as graduate recruitment, training scheme intakes. The nature of the assessment centre also allows organizations to get closer to the selection process by observing how candidates perform the sort of tasks actually found in the role for which they are being assessed. These sorts of real life exercises can provide a good indicator of a candidates probable future performance. LIMITATIONS OF ASSESSMENT CENTERS: An effective centre requires a considerable investment in time and resources-the design process alone can take many months. Many organizations already have detailed job descriptions and competency frameworks in place, simplifying this part of the design process. Assessment centers are expensive to run but appear to be rated highly by employers and candidates alike. Aside from psychometrics test and interviews, candidates can expect to undertake in-tray exercises, role-plays and group activities, as well as being required to make presentations. Care should be taken when using high-validity selection methods to ensure that they operate fairly and are free of bias against any particular group of candidates. CONCLUSION: http://www.howto.co.uk/careers/questions-at-interview/assessment_centres/

Ceremony- Rewrite Essay

Tradition is the illusion of permanence. It defines who people are and gives them a place in their community; it is an expression of belonging and individuality at the same time. In Ceremony, Leslie Marmon Silko exposes throughout the novel many Native American characters. Some follow the traditions and others are ashamed of them. Silko expresses that only the ones that follow them are the ones that find themselves. They know who they are and are stronger and wiser. Because of this, they are the ones that will survive in this horrible modern world. Tayo is a boy that is proud of his origins and follows the traditions of his tribe. Rocky, on the contrary, tries to avoid the traditions and follow the white ways. Consequently, he thinks it will give him an advantage. He considers that white people are better. Both boys are influenced by their family and events that occur during their childhood. Both Rocky’s parents are Native Americans. Auntie, his mother, is one of the most negative characters in the novel. She does not follow the morals of the Native Americans; she is instead Christian and is close-minded. She influences Rocky to the white ways; she is the one that tries to make everything possible for Rocky’s success as a white. She even takes him to white school. â€Å"You drink like an Indian, and you’re crazy like one too—but you aren ´t shit, white trash. You love the Japs the way your mother loved to screw white men.† Tayo is the child of a Native American woman and an uncertain white f ather. Tayo is bullied by this all the time since he was young. In school, he said â€Å"Mexican eyes, the other kids used to tease me.† Tayo’s mother name is Laura. Laura was confused with the mixing of both cultures and ends up being ashamed of both. In addition she becomes an alcoholic and abandons Tayo. People assault Tayo for looking different. They accuse him of thinking he is better because he is half- white. In contrast, he tries to fit in and be accepted in his community. He feels rejected. Native Americans live together, all with their brothers and sisters. Auntie is bother when Tayo shows up in her house. Grandma and Josiah do not because they are accustomed to live all together. Auntie raises Rocky and makes him her own way. On the other hand, Tayo is raise by Josiah and Grandma. They teach him the traditions and storytelling. The key is there, that makes Tayo and Rocky different: the way they are raise. It develops their feelings for their origins and makes them proud or ashamed of where they belong and who they are. Also, when Tayo and Auntie are alone she makes it clear that he is different in a wrong way. Auntie wants no success for Tayo, only for Rocky. This makes Tayo feels like an outsider in the family and gives the sentiment of not belonging anywhere, but he never loses faith. Yet, family motivates Rocky to act white. Tayo has to make an effort to be noticed in the family; he has to take care of the cattle and even decides to join Rocky in the army. While Rocky has to do nothing and family members support him the most. Going to war is something that Tayo does for belonging. It has some success; Rocky calls him â€Å"brother† and not â€Å"cousin†. In white school, teachers teach them that storytelling is pure superstition; it which is science they have to believe in. Tayo and Rocky are taught the same, Rocky succeeds and Tayo does not. Despite the fact that the teachers tell Tayo that traditions and storytelling are nonsenses he stills believes. Nevertheless, Rocky, â€Å"After their first year of boarding school in Albuquerque, Tayo saw how Rocky deliberately avoided the old-time ways. Old Grandma shook her head at him, but he called it superstition, and he opened his books to show her.† Rocky through Auntie’s previous influence, gets easily motivated by the white teachers. The teachers’ goal is to eliminate their beliefs, so Native Americans would start thinking â€Å"white†. Watching Rocky’s success in school â€Å"he listened to his teachers, and he listened to his coach†¦They told him, â€Å"Nothing can stop you now except one thing: don’t let the people at home hold you back†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Auntie†¦wanted him to be a success. She could see what white people wanted in an Indian, and she believed this way was his only chance.† Rocky now thinks as a white man, but Tayo is still loyal to his Native American beliefs. Rocky’s decision to go to the war is driven by the goal of being as a white man and â€Å"belonging in America†. Rocky dies in war. Tayo and friends that attended white school together come back. All of them are suffering from an internal conflict, post traumatic effect. Tayo wants to cure himself and starts a traditional ceremony. The other men are like Rocky, they want to be white and reject their own culture. â€Å"So they tried to sink the loss in booze, and silence their grief with war stories about their courage, defending the land they had already lost.† The ones that are like Rocky, consequently, automedicate themselves with alcohol because they believe in nothing else. If Rocky had returned from the war he would have found in the same situation. In war they triumph, they are equally important as white men. â€Å"She looked at these Laguna guys. They had been treated first class once, with their uniforms. As long as there had been a war and the white people were afraid of the Japs and Hitler.† Without their uniforms, without being recognized as American soldiers, the Native Americans are again found discrimination. So they drink even more to remember that belonging â€Å"Here they are, trying to bring back that old feeling, that feeling they belonged to America the way they felt during war†¦ Belonging was drinking and laughing with the platoon, dancing with blond women, buying drinks†¦ They repeated the stories about good time like long medicine chants† . They are killing themselves with alcohol, the same way Rocky would do if he had back from the war. Because they prefer alcohol over medicine plants, or anything that is from their own culture. They already feel white and they like it more. In spite of this, Tayo cures himself and starts even a better life, the ceremony makes him a survivor. Leslie Marmon Silko between Tayo and Rocky shows the reader, even when Rocky is dead, how traditions can save the souls of who believe. Rocky and the other men modernize everything and eliminate their own origins. The people that they really are inside. Tayo, instead, combines the traditions and creates a new ceremony that includes white culture, but preserves the origins of the Native Americans. The other men are dead alive. Tayo is like that after the war, but ceremonies save him and make him a true survivor. Also, he has the function of a connection between the older and younger generations of Native Americans. The author concludes that in this modern and horrible world, only the ones that adapt and accept the change positively will survive and be happy. People should never forget their roots because that is what they purely are.

Untold Stories on Honors College Essay Examples You Really Need to Read or Be Left Out

Untold Stories on Honors College Essay Examples You Really Need to Read or Be Left Out It supplies the student some component of opinionated approach to the answer. For example, not focusing enough on Purdue-specific programs might convey a deficiency of knowledge, but mentioning too a lot of them would not leave room to spell out the reason why they're related to you. Greater emphasis will be set on more current facets of the application. Furthermore, the university does a superb job of accepting a wide selection of nationalities, personalities, and religions. All About Honors College Essay Examples It isn't important if you wrote an ideal answer if it's the incorrect question. The more important question is the way to minimize the damage such people may cause. Broadly speaking, the response is no. To guarantee that you will see a complete answer to every question, we've got a support team that is always online. While the essay ought to be lively, it isn't a creative writ ing exercise. It is an important part of your HC application and should represent your polished writing. Your essay is the opportunity to stand out. My essay writing took a practice of a couple of months. Introduction Body paragraphs Conclusion It is essential that students utilize academic sources to better their credibility. Below are a few of the examples in the kind of prompts a student will probably encounter in a college essay request. When choosing the most suitable college essay topics, students ought to be keen to center on the principal ideas they're attempting to pass in their essay. A superb college essay isn't just persuasive, it's a piece which highlights the suitable attitude to the college, the personal aspirations and the vision the student has once they get in the school. If you've already graduated from college or university and are trying to find a fantastic job, you will need to get a persuasive resume to impress your future employer. In my experience, each time a student knows precisely what to anticipate from education, their curiosity and excitement shuts down the large part of the time. Check not just the site of the college, but likewise some internet opinions and comments. The application readers will know about all of the awards you have gotten. All applicants need to write two essays as part of their application approach. The personal statement is the area in which you own a possiblity to bring a distinguishing ingredient which makes your application one that can't be refused. The application also has space for applicants to supply extra information that cannot be included elsewhere. What You Need to Know About Honors College Essay Examples Your life isn't a Lifetime movie. Our crew of writers who provide this form of assistance will be happy to earn a job-winning resume for you. Sometimes in life it is advisable to have a step back and consider the huge picture. Talk about the way you can add to the HC community and your personal background, as diversity is an enormous pride point for the HC and UIC in general. Honors College Essay Examples - Is it a Scam? When you inform us about all of the paper information, we' ll begin searching for an appropriate writer for your paper. Academic papers cannot contain any signals of plagiarism. If you discover that the writer did not provide precisely what you expected, request a revision, and we'll make the corrections. You might also get in touch with your writer to supply some excess recommendations or request information regarding the order's progress. What You Should Do About Honors College Essay Examples Beginning in the Next Eight Minutes College application essay, is a significant aspect as it enables the panel, pick the best students that show the right sort of motivation, for placement into a few of their programs. You have to complete and submit each one of the regular UW Admissions and all the Honors application materials to be thought about for Interdisciplinary Honors. Honors College scholarships call for a supplemental application. On account of the many questions that we've received, the Honor of the College can't supply you with a n otice of decision on registration. Once it looks like a lot of additional work, honors programs typically provide additional support to students during and following the program. If you make a last choice to choose Macaulay Honors College because it suits all your education requirements, it's time to learn more about the principal explanations for why you are its very best candidate. If it is time to graduate, most honors programs require students to finish a last project or thesis as a way to graduate with honors. Don't forget, however, which you are asking for an honors college, and not for work, etc.. Want to Know More About Honors College Essay Examples? Use the assistance of true academic experts and receive the service you have earned! A Real Estate company unlike any other centered on the mission of constructing a network of career-minded pros who strive to cultivate their enterprise and their future. It's been stunning to realize that the literary techniques I'd learned for English may be replicated in J apanese. In order to deal with the HOW, there might be several techniques you could utilize. What You Must Know About Honors College Essay Examples The writing does not need to be complex. It is advisable should you scan your ready-made essay a couple of times before having a last go. A thesis statement functions as a guide, on which the remainder of the paper is hinged on. While writing a personal narrative, you should concentrate on only one experience. Honors College Essay Examples at a Glance The Honors College would like to grow leaders, who desire to generate a difference in our world. Some learning communities require residing in a particular residence hall. It's important the student has the capability to develop a thesis statement that's fitting with their objectives. Students do their very best to get ready for the actual world and earn skills they can use in their job.

How to Make Black Snake or Glow Worm Fireworks

Black snakes, sometimes called glow worms, are small tablets that you light, using a punk or a lighter, that burn to produce long black snakes of ash. They produce some smoke (which had a characteristic, probably toxic odor), but no fire or explosion. The original fireworks used to contain salts of a heavy metal (such as mercury), so while they were marketed for kids to play with, they really werent that much safer than conventional fireworks, just dangerous in a different way. However, there is a safe way to make black snakes. You can heat baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) with sugar (sucrose) to produce carbon dioxide gas that puffs up black carbon ash (see a video). Black Snake Materials SandAlcohol or fuel oil (High-proof alcohol or lighter fluid works well for this  project)Baking sodaSugar (Powdered sugar or you can grind table sugar in a coffee grinder) Steps to Make Snakes Mix 4 parts powdered sugar with 1 part baking soda. (Try  4 teaspoons sugar and 1 teaspoon baking soda)Make a mound with the sand. Push a depression into the middle of the sand.Pour the alcohol or other fuel into the sand to wet it.Pour the sugar and soda mixture into the depression.Ignite the mound, using a lighter or match. At first, youll get a flame and some small scattered blackened balls. Once the reaction gets going, the carbon dioxide will puff up the carbonate into the continuously extruded snake. You can also make black snakes without sand -- mix baking soda and sugar in a metal mixing bowl, add the fuel and light the mixture. It should work fine. These will have a distinct, familiar smell... of burnt marshmallows. Finally, rest assured that if you use pure ethanol, sugar, and baking soda, there is nothing toxic about this project. One caution: Dont add fuel to the burning snake, since you risk igniting the alcohol stream. How Black Snakes Work The sugar and baking soda snake proceeds according to the following chemical reactions, where sodium bicarbonate breaks down into sodium carbonate, water vapor, and carbon dioxide gas while burning the sugar in oxygen produces water vapor and carbon dioxide gas. The snake is carbonate with black carbon particles: 2 NaHCO3 → Na2CO3 H2O CO2 C2H5OH 3 O2 → 2 CO2 3 H2O These instructions were adapted from a tutorial given on Boing Boing which in turn came from a defunct Russian site. The Russian site suggested two additional ways to make chemical snakes: Ammonium Nitrate Black Snake This works the same way as the sugar and baking soda snake, except using ammonium nitrate (niter) instead of sugar. Mix one part ammonium nitrate and one part baking soda. This recipe is more like what you would see in commercial black snake fireworks, which are supposedly composed of soda with nitrated naphthalenes and linseed oil. Its another very safe demonstration, though not safe enough to eat, like sugar and baking soda. Ammonium Dichromate Green Snake The green snake is a variation on the ammonium dichromate volcano. The volcano is a cool chemistry demonstration (orange sparks, green ash, smoke), but its a chemistry-lab-only demonstration (not safe for kids at all) because the chromium compound is toxic. The green soda snakes are made from: Two parts of ammonium nitrateOne part of powdered sugarOne part of ammonium dichromate Mix the ingredients, add a small amount of water, and roll the result into a snake shape (using gloves is strongly recommended). Allow the snake to dry (the tutorial suggests using a hairdryer to speed the process). Light one end of the snake.  Its worth knowing how to do this demonstration if you have ammonium dichromate and ammonium nitrate on hand, otherwise, let the Russian photos suffice and play with the sugar and baking soda snakes instead.  In this case, an orange snake burns to green ash.  Another (spectacular) form of black carbon snake results from reacting sugar and sulfuric acid. Disclaimer: Please be advised that the content provided by our website is for EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. Fireworks and the chemicals contained within them are dangerous and should always be handled with care and used with common sense. By using this website you acknowledge that ThoughtCo., its parent About, Inc. (a/k/a Dotdash), and IAC/InterActive Corp. shall have no liability for any damages, injuries, or other legal matters caused by your use of fireworks or the knowledge or application of the information on this website. The providers of this content specifically do not condone using fireworks for disruptive, unsafe, illegal, or destructive purposes. You are responsible for following all applicable laws before using or applying the information provided on this website.