Elemental Puzzle 1/29/22

So, your science teacher daughter asks you to mount a age appropriate Periodic Table of the Elements that she wants to use with her 8th grade students. But, it is not the typical chart; it is a puzzle. Mod Podge to the rescue - a coating that looks like thick milk out of the bottle that is painted on the front and back of a puzzle. It seeps into the joints and creates a film over the puzzle that holds it together. (Multiple coats are recommended especially on the puzzle's face. Before applying, lay the puzzle on a non-stick surface such as parchment paper.)

Once coated, it is a matter of mounting the puzzle in a frame or gluing it to a hard surface. Because this Periodic Table puzzle was going to be handled by hundreds of students a year, the backing and frame needed to be sturdy. I glued the puzzle to a piece of 3/16" plywood with supports glued the back to stiffen it without adding excessive weight. I also added a hard wood frame (made from Amerian Chestnut given to be about five years ago by a neighbor), which I stained and gave two coats of polyurethane.

Ah, ready for the wear and tear of a middle school classroom.