The contest was run to have students design an elemental tile for each of the four newly named elements: nihonium (Nh), moscovium (Mc), tennessine (Ts), and oganesson (Og).
It was very nice to get acquainted with the drawings of young people. It was interesting to see how they perceive new elements. It seemed to me that they should have an abstract perception. In fact, each of them puts their own specific vision.
Winners
The final winners have been announced! With 200 submissions and thousands of online votes, the below winning tiles have been added to the Periodic Table Project poster and mobile app.
Nihonium (Nh) winning element tile
Greater Latrobe Senior High School, Latrobe, Pennsylvania
Artists: Sydney Green, Sarah Seremet, Camryn Kinkead, Lauren Willner
Teacher: Rachel Suter
Moscovium (Mc) winning element tile
St. Edmund Campion Secondary School, Brampton, Ontario
Artist: Gershon Canagasingham
Teacher: Mr. Di Cicco
Tennessine (Ts) winning element tile
Port Credit Secondary School, Mississauga, Ontario
Artist: Suzanne Uraiqat
Teacher: Asha Mistry
Oganesson (Og) winning element tile
Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate Institute and Vocational School (KCI), Kitchener, Ontario
Artist: Julia Rombough
Teacher: Allan Van Brunschot
Final four decision
We asked our stakeholders to decide on the final four for each new element. We had over 20 judges from our original Periodic Table Project sponsors: 3M Canada, JWA Group, Chemical Institute of Canada, University of Waterloo's Office of Research, University of Waterloo's Department of Chemistry, and our own Chem 13 News magazine editorial board. Yuri Oganessian was also one of the judges — Yes, that Yuri Oganessian!
Get the free Periodic Table Project mobile app
You can download the free Periodic Table Project mobile app for Apple or Android devices! The app has artistic tiles for each element on the periodic table, along with descriptions behind the design. It also has the basic atomic properties of each element for students to readily access.
Background of the Periodic Table Project
In 2011, we invited Chem 13 News magazine readers to have their students artistically express an element on a 6-inch by 6-inch tile for the Periodic Table Project to celebrate the International Year of Chemistry. In 2013, we ran a design contest for flerovium (Fl) and livermorium (Lv). Another design contest was run in 2017 for the four newly named elements: nihonium (Nh), moscovium (Mc), tennessine (Ts), and oganesson (Og)
Read more about the Periodic Table Project.