The Elements App

     The STEM resource I chose to blog about is the app called "The Elements". It was Created by Theodore Gray of Popular Science's “Gray Matter” column. Being a Chemistry nerd myself, this was an obvious pick, but of course, I was worried it might not cover all branches of STEM. After further investigation, I realized it did covered all the basics of STEM and, on-top of that, it covered the elements of STEAM as well. So obviously, it covers the elements and their scientific characteristics, but it also covers the mathematics behind molar mass, specific gravity, physics and "The Elements in Action" section (which covers reactions and chemical changes). It also shows the reasons we use certain elements for specific engineering jobs based upon cost, effectiveness, availability and toxicity. I would say this app could go as far as to incorporate the Art in STEAM because of it's beautiful presentations of the elements and would definitely spark an interest for students in the arts as well. With colorful images of more than 500 objects, "The Elements" features the stories behind the elements and founders of the periodic table, thus giving a bit of a history lesson behind the discoveries of the chemicals.

Each element has two pages of information with a spinning model with the element's chemical symbol and atomic number. This app is perfect for both newbie chemists and aspiring learners.

The only negative to this app is that it can be quite pricey, ranking in at $13.99 per download, however, I think this would be an excellent resource to have in the classroom. I was also curious as to if the company might give discounts to a classroom teacher if the school bought in bulk. 

http://apps.theodoregray.com/the-elements/