If you didn't know, National Periodic Table Day is this Thursday, Feb. the 7th. More info about the day can be found on PeriodTableDay.org. Organizers recommend you use #PeriodicTableDay on social media to post how you are celebrating. The Periodic Table is 150 years old this year so besides observing Thursday, we are celebrating the International Year of the Periodic Table for all of 2019! Keep reading for some of my favorite periodic table resources.
Figure 1: The February 2019 cover of ChemMatters.1
- In David Warmflash's article, The Periodic Table Turns 150, published in this months issue of ChemMatters (see Figure 1), he explains that the table is holding up well under the test of time - and science.
- As a high school teacher, I love using the TED talk (see below), The Genius of Mendeleev's Periodic Table, featuring Lou Serico to introduce my students to the beauty of the periodic table.2
- I love using stories from many of author Sam Keen's books.
- I also show my students a video (see below) featuring Theo Gray regarding the periodic table.3 (On a side note, Theo Gray will be a guest speaker at ChemEd2019!
- Because 2019 has been designated the International Year of the Periodic Table, not a day goes by that I don't see a social media post regarding celebrating this milestone. For example, I just came across an article, Setting the Table, in Science Magazine that shows a brief visual history of the periodic table.
- If you wish to test your knowledge or your students knowledge of the periodic table then check out 150 Years of the Periodic Table: Test Your Knowledge, an activity published by BBC News.
- Of course, you might want to try that test after watching The Periodic Table Song video below.4
- Be sure to keep up with posts from Compound Interest as they create a graphic for each of the 118 elements.
- If you wish to download some apps regarding the periodic table then be sure to check out some of my past ChemEd X blogs entitled Not All Periodic Table are the Same and Periodic Table Websites and Apps- An Update.
- The Royal Society of Chemistry offers promotional items that you can download.
No matter how you wish to celebrate the Periodic Table, you might want to get a cake or tie a balloon to your classroom periodic table. I hope you share your celebrations in the comments below and/or on social media!
1 - ChemMatters Magazine, ACS Division of Education (accessed 2/3/2019)
2 - TED-Ed YouTube, The genius of Mendeleev's periodic table - Lou Serico (accessed 2/3/2019)
3 - Reactions YouTube, The Periodic Table - Theo Gray (accessed 2/3/2019)
4 - AsapSCIENCE YouTube, The Periodic Table Song - Mitchell Moffit (accessed 2/3/2019)