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Introduction to the Journey to Neon™ Chemistry Game Series
1.
Atom Capture - an Introduction to Atoms and Elements
Julie Newdoll has a degree in Microbiology from the University of California at
Santa Barbara and a Masters in Medical Illustration from the University of California at
San Francisco (UCSF). She consulted initially with National Academy of Science Professor Robert M. Stroud of UCSF for technical accuracy, and their discussions lead to the
final look of her first creation of a series of rubber stamps of the first ten elements, ready
to make single bonds. Her initial designs were reserved, displaying simply the amount of
protons and electrons in each element in an arrangement that reflected how orbitals are
thought to be organized. Stroud encouraged her to push the symbolism further. “Lithium
should be on fire!,” she remembers him saying.
The first board game in the series is called Atom Capture©. It deals only with the first
ten elements. By the end of the game, players have become familiar with the names of the
first ten elements, and the fact that each element contains an equal number of protons in
the center as electrons on the outside. It could be used as a refresher and an ice breaker
for a high school class, or to introduce these concepts for the first time along with lecture
material at an earlier age. It could also be played as a math game for younger students
with no mention of chemistry - planting of seeds for later discussions.
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A Teacher’s Guide to the Journey to Neon™ Chemistry Game Series
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The Electronimoes cards have been reviewed by several prominent scientists, including Professor Stroud; Antony Williams, Ph. D., Vice President, Strategic Development,
Royal Society of Chemistry; Dr. Martin A. Walker of SUNY Potsdam; and author/scientist Simon Quellen Field. This labor of love is hereby presented to the scientific community in the hopes that a desire to unite art and science in the field of chemistry education
is out there!
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No matter what your opinion is on how old a person should be when introduced
to the concepts of atoms, elements and orbitals, these games provide an aesthetic, tactile
and visual approach to the subject that will make exploring the concepts more engaging
and accessible for some. People that are visual and tactile might make great chemists, and
these games could draw in a new type of audience to the field.
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Because her initial audience was eight, the games were designed with bright colors
and subliminal messages that could be decoded as her daughter grew older and was able
to understand more and more. As a painter, Newdoll understood that any good piece of
art should stand up to viewing time and time again, always with something new to discover. In order to explain critical details, her games grew while her children grew up. Her
daughter is twelve at the time of writing this manual, and has the foundation to be able to
comprehend the blended colors that symbolize orbital hybridization. Her eight year old
son is close behind in comprehension of the topics covered in the games. Students in their
classrooms are playing these games, and it is already clear that an hour of review by playing some sort of game each year is enough to keep the concepts solid.
In all of the games, protons are represented by plus signs
and electrons are represented by arrows. The use of arrows
instead of dots avoids the misconception that electrons are
discrete particles. For introductory material, there is a fun
video on the www.electronimoes.com site called “Introducing the atom”. This video was
designed as a light hearted, entertaining way to introduce the atom.
• A craft project is on the same web page, where students can make a hydrogen atom
out of a cotton ball, one of the proton coins of the game on the inside, and one of
the electron arrows in the cottony cloud on the outside.
• Show the video on how to play Atom Capture on the same page. The manual has an
introduction to the atom, emphasizing how small it is, as well.
• While it is not necessary to understand anything about orbitals in this game, here is
a key to the colors for the benefit of the instructor. These details are discussed and
elaborated upon in later games. Here is an atom from the game board on the left,
and a key to the orbital shapes and colors in the games on the right:
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And so, what began as an artist’s quest to answer questions her eight year old daughter was asking about all the numbers on the backs of a beautiful set of cards of the elements by Theodore Gray, turned into a multi-year journey to tell the full story behind the
introductory concepts of atoms, elements and bonding.
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The symbol for “neon” is in the center, which will be explained in the section on rubber stamps. The proton number of proton “coins” go in the center of an atom representing a particular element. An equal number of electron arrows go on the numbered arrows, starting with the number 1.
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Element Passport
Creator of Passport:__________________________________________
Playing Atom Capture© in the Classroom
If the class has not had any experience at all with atoms, the video online and the page
in the manual about what an atom is and how small it is would enhance the experience.
However, it is a game, and no explanation about atoms is required to play it. Just as kids
playing Monopoly©™ instinctively grasp that the houses on the properties are not to scale,
the atoms are so large that when any real discussion about atoms occurs, it can be easily
figured out that the atoms on the game board are not to scale.
Element Name:______________________________________________
For most classrooms, it is ideal to have no more than four students per game. These
students divide into two teams. These teams may either cooperate or compete by counting the proton numbers of the element cards they win at the end of the game.
Element Discoverer:______________________________________________
For high school and college level students, you can play this game early in the year as
an ice-breaker for the class. The concepts are easy, although essential.
To encourage play, you can have the players make an “Element Passport” for at least
one of the elements their team wins. Each player should get a separate piece of paper and
write the name of the element and some key pieces of information on this paper, such as
the example template provided for your use on the next page. There is also a pdf of the
templates online at www.electronimoes.com, with
and without the orbital diagram.
Later, when they play the game on the other side
of the board called Escape with your Elements©, the
students will find out which isotope they have of this
element, and they can record it on their passport.
The element passport could be turned in for participation points. An orbital diagram can be used if
you do not have the Journey to Neon™ rubber
stamps. Simply cover up this orbital diagram when
making copies for passports if you want the area
blank. The orbital diagram is explained in a later
chapter.
On one side of the game cards, there is a brief description of
the etymology and discoverer of the element.
A Teacher’s Guide to the Journey to Neon™ Chemistry Game Series
Proton Number:______________________________________________
Atomic Weight:______________________________________________
Mass Number:______________________________________________
Number of Neutrons:______________________________________________
Reserve this space for your Rubber Stamp of this element, or use the orbital diagram:
2p
2s
1s