Early submissions to New Elements Contest

element design with japan flag and waves with a sunset in the backgoundNihonium has the atomic number 113 and was created by a group of Japanese scientists at RIKEN in 2004. I designed it with a rising sun because nihon, in Japanese, means “land of the rising sun”. Also the Japanese flag is included on the tile because nihonium was the first element created in an Asian country. The ocean wave was inspired by the many Japanese paintings that I've seen. The materials I used were pencil crayons and some acrylic paint, on regular paper.

Pemberton High School, Pemberton, British Columbia

Artist: Madeline Beaudry

Teacher: Karen Tomlinson


element design with castle on a pink backgoundMoscovium: I decided to draw the Headquarters of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, Russia. I superimposed my drawing of Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow over JINR, to portray the namesake of moscovium. I researched how scientists bombarded americium with calcium ions to create a highly radioactive new element. I emphasized this radioactivity through yellow rays and the elements calcium and americium on either side. Lastly, to acknowledge the joint cooperation of Russian and American chemists in 2003, I drew the Russian and American flags side by side at the foot of the JINR headquarters.

Old Lyme High School, Old Lyme, Connecticut

Artist: Alex Williams

Teacher: Lucy Walter


circle with toxic logo on element tileTennessine: There were different institutions behind this super-heavy element discovery. In my tile I tried to honour all of them along with the recognition of the contribution of the Tennessee region. I used the logo of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (T) in the element symbol (Ts), the names of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Vanderbilt University are shown directly and the background is a model cross-section of a High Flux Isotope Reactor-core. In the center of the core I added the Tennessee region flag symbols, glowing to acknowledge the radioactivity of the element.

Port Credit Secondary School, Mississauga, Ontario

Artist: Suzanne Uraiqat

Teacher: Asha Mistry


grey hair with glasses on element tileOganesson: The tile I created features the newly discovered element, oganesson. It is named after the Russian nuclear physicist, Yuri Oganessian, honouring him for his significant scientific achievements, including that of discovering many super-heavy elements. The background of the colours of the Russian flag represent Oganessian's nationality as well as the contribution of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia for the discovery of the element. The hair and glasses portray Oganessian’s most notable features. The name of the element was in handwriting with chalk to represent his occupation as a researcher. The element is radioactive, hence the symbol in the lower left.

Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School, Kitchener, Ontario

Artist: Julia Rombough

Teacher: Allan Van Brunschot