Periodic table turns 150

In May the Society celebrated the 150th anniversary of the ripanga pūmotu periodic table, following its discovery by Dmitri Mendeleev in 1869. By organising elements by atomic number, the columms group elements likely to react in similar ways. We videoed teachers and researchers speaking about how they use the peroidic table in their everyday lives and we asked tauira students around the country to design a periodic table-inspired t-shirt.

“Our knowledge about atoms and molecules doesn’t start that long ago. Human kind had been on the planet for a very long time without this knowledge and our society has moved on dramatically from not knowing what things are made of. The peroidic table is an integral part of explaining what all the elements are and how they relate to each other. The guy who thought it up, he got it bang on right first time!”

PROFESSOR RICHARD FURNEAUX FRSNZ

VIEW VIDEOS AND WINNING T-SHIRT DESIGNS