The University of Waterloo this week unveiled an international collaboration that was a year in the making and blends science and art
WATERLOO, Ont. (Thursday, Apr 12, 2012) - The University of Waterloo this week unveiled an international collaboration that was a year in the making and blends science and art.
Contributors, investors and chemistry educators attended the public event this week to get a first look at the large mosaic known as the Chem 13 News Periodic Table. Chem 13 News is a monthly magazine that Waterloo's chemistry department publishes. The unique project is approximately 8 metres by 5 metres in size and hangs in the foyer of the Centre for Environmental and Information Technology.
To mark the International Year of Chemistry (IYC) in 2011, Chem 13 News editors and representatives from the Faculty of Science encouraged chemistry educators and enthusiasts from all over the world to design an artistic interpretation of one of the elements in the periodic table. The call to action resulted in tile submissions from each Canadian province and territory, 20 U.S. states, and 14 other countries.
The Chemical Institute of Canada and the Office of Research at the University of Waterloo funded the project. 3M Canada manufactured the large wall mural with technology first used in the Vancouver Olympics, and funded the development of electronic applications for the project.
“We are enormously pleased to have been able to partner with 3M Canada to create this stunning visual display of the periodic table,” said Terrance McMahon. “This project engaged participation from students all over the world in its design, and the combination of the artistry and scientific content of the final product have created profile for the discipline of Chemistry in general and, more specifically, the innovation in science and science education at the University of Waterloo.”
The project is also in the form of a traveling display, plus posters for every Canadian high school. 3M Canada designed the poster.
For more information, please visit
www.chemistry.uwaterloo.ca/iyc/periodic-table-project.
Image: Periodic Table.
