The finished table!
(Credit: KnitFest)
It’s the International Year of the Periodic Table and staff member, Ron Smith and user, Jan Skakle from ISIS Neutron and Muon Source are part of a wider big knitting project – creating a periodic table blanket!
2019 commemorates 150 years since Mendeleev produced the first true version of the periodic table, in a form that is recognisable today. Iconic and present in all chemistry classrooms, it serves to help us understand not only the properties of the elements, but also the underlying structure of the atoms too.
The outreach activity was launched at the University of Aberdeen, to knit the table, piece by piece and element by element! With time, more people became involved with the project from all parts of the UK and further afield, and the group have now distributed more than 300 knitting patterns to over 150 knitters.
The team has completed its first table, but will be producing more over the course of the year, and aim to sell/auction them off to raise money for Aberdeen Cyrenians- a charity that aims to meet all the varying needs of people affected by homelessness in Aberdeen.
ISIS Neutron and Muon user, Jan Skakle, said: “Through social media, we are sharing completed knitted elements and information about these to a ‘community of knitters’, some interested in science and some less so, linking in to our outreach programme and events.”
Find out more: KnitFest2019 or want to get involved? Email Knitfest2019@gmail.com
Last updated: 10 June 2019
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