After decades of collecting and years of preparation – and a COVID break that allowed me to plan, curate, and order missing pieces, my personal dream project was completed in Spring 2023: A publicly accessible Periodic Table Display that exhibits samples of the elements (where feasible) and related items of daily life, corresponding minerals, and key compounds, including samples from past and current teaching and research activities of the faculty of the Department of Chemistry.
The display was designed to weave a dense fabric of chemistry and its long-standing and comprehensive influence on every aspect of life; its density invites discovery and re-visits. Of the ~1200 samples included, some are quite unique, while many others are found in every household. Some samples hail from space, were gathered at the bottom of the ocean or pulled from the earth. Select items are genuine antiques, others are very precious, but plenty are neither – but all items were chosen to delight and educate. Items of vanity and luxury are next to items essential to life and tools. Medicine, engineering, the arts, chemistry, biology and aspects of history, geography, are represented. Come and enjoy.
Two interactive touch displays deliver additional information. For further information, see UConn Today, UConn Magazine, or the UConn Department of Chemistry website (also for directions and access information).
