Learn about Atoms with a Photographic Periodic Table of Elements

In helping our daughter learn about atoms I found a wonderful site with a Photographci Periodic table that really stimulated her interest.

Yesterday Jeff informed me that Joely, our 7 year old, had been asking him about what atoms were. He said he'd tried to explain it in terms she could understand, but that he didn't think she had really 'gotten it.'

And so I was assigned the task.

Well, I love science, so I eagerly took up the challenge. I got out my homemade white board and markers and Joely and I discussed the basics of atoms, elements, and molecules, using water as our basic example. As we got further into our discussion, I wanted to show Joely a good periodic table of elements, so I Googled it, and before long came up with this gem of a site — The Photographic Periodic Table of Elements.

On this unusual chart, each element is listed in the normal table format, but instead of just the symbol, there's a photographic example of each element.

On top of that, when you cursor over an element, more details about that entry are listed at the top of the table, along with an interesting nugget of information unique to that element, such as this one about palladium:

"Palladium is far more expensive than silver, yet it is sometimes used to imitate silver in outdoor situations because it does not tarnish. Side by side with silver, palladium is distinctly yellower and darker."

If you're doing a study about atoms or looking for a good periodic table, you might want to bookmark this site. It's definitely piqued Joely's interest about atoms and it's worth a look!