Periodic Table Project Ideas

Projects about the periodic table of elements offers many possibilities for a fun and educational activity. A student can learn a great deal about new scientific aspects, as well as historical aspects throughout the process of a project. No matter what type of project the student chooses, the project should primarily focus on the periodic table to further understand its significance in chemistry.

Song

Creating a song that focuses on the periodic table of elements is great for individual and group projects. A song about the periodic table can describe all or certain elements on the table. For example, an individual project could include a song about the first 10 elements that tells a story or rhymes the elements. A group project song can incorporate all of the elements, where students choose certain elements to sing about. Either type of project can be accompanied with a blank picture of the periodic table and when an element is named in a song, it can be filled in with PowerPoint animation or with a poster display by hand.

Playing Cards

Middle and high school students can enjoy creating a playing-cards project. Students can make a three-game playing-card project that incorporates flash cards, memorization cards and a go-fish style deck. Flash cards designed to quiz students on identifying the element's names, along with its symbol, atomic number and atomic weight increase knowledge of more than just the element name. A memorization card game can include facts about the elements and element names, symbols and atomic number. For example, a player could draw a card from a pile with a fact about hydrogen and has to find the hydrogen card that is face down with other cards laid out. A go-fish style card game can include at least 13 different elements (mimicking a deck of cards numbered two through ace), where the traditional four suits are replaced with protons, neutrons or electrons as suits.

Historical Project

A project centered around historical research of the periodic table of the elements is ideal for students interested in history, researching and writing. A historical project should have a clear objective as to what is being researched and written about. For example, a student could choose to research boron, neon and lithium to find such things as who discovered them, what their first uses were and why they are significant to the periodic table. Students can give a brief background of their research process, detailed findings, research questions, conclusions and further research questions or scientific research to consider from the project. Students can enhance a project by using computer software, poster board or class handouts to present their findings.