Elemental Blocks: the Building Blocks of Everything!

What is the world made of? You can start to find the answer with Uncle Goose Elemental Blocks!

At first glance, the Periodic Table of Elements may look confusing to a child. That’s why it’s a good idea to break the task down into playful chunks.

In fact, that’s what Mendeleev did when he put together the Periodic Table of Elements back in the 1800s! He started by putting the names of all the elements he knew on cards. Then he added information about the elements to the cards.

What he did next was nothing short of brilliant. He started arranging the cards by atomic weight. Sorting, stacking, grouping — why, these are classic block play activities! 

Each of the 20 wooden cubes in our Elemental Blocks features six elements, along with their images, symbols, names, and atomic numbers. This lets both children and grown-ups explore the building blocks of matter through play. Mendeleev would approve!

The Periodic Table of Elements can become much more accessible when a child can pick up oxygen, turn over gold, and stack carbon. They come to discover that every little square represents something real in the world around them.

Lead With Curiosity

Don’t start with memorization. Instead, start with questions!

• What element helps us breathe?
• What might we find in a penny?
• Which element is part of our bones?

As children search the blocks for oxygen, zinc, and calcium, they begin making meaningful connections between science and everyday life. They come to see that science is everywhere!

Try choosing one element a day. You can read its name together before hunting for a real-world connection. Perhaps iron leads to a pan in the kitchen. Maybe helium brings up balloons. Silicon may point you toward a discussion about phones and computers.

Made for Discovery

Uncle Goose Elemental Blocks are 100% Made in the USA from sustainable Midwestern basswood and printed with safe-to-touch inks. They’re also a reminder that science is tactile. A child can hold the symbol for sodium or rotate a block to find plutonium. Even adults may find themselves rediscovering facts they forgot in school.

Get the Classic Color Scheme Before They're All Gone!

For a limited time, you can get Uncle Goose Elemental Blocks in the classic color scheme you see embedded in this blog post. After they sell out, we'll introduce our brand-new color scheme. You can get a preview of how the new colors look by taking a gander at the image at the top of this blog!