Periodic Table Building Blocks – Engineering Gift

I notice in the picture that Ar is labelled as 81 when it is actually 18. Has this been fixed?? If I send these as a gift for my nephew's soon to be born baby I want them to be correct. My nephew is a chemistry graduate student.

Verified reply from Cassie, Community Moderator

Thanks for reaching out! We're sorry about the delay in answering your question. We just wanted to check our inventory to make sure all of our elements were correctly labeled. You're absolutely right that Ar should be 18. Fortunately, it is labeled correctly on all of our blocks. We'll update our product page with the correction.

I am interested to find out which elements are on the same block. I would like to purchase this set for a birth announcement, but this won't be possible if the elements I'm interested in are on the same block. This specific elements I'm interested in are: Sc P I B Er Ba H and Y. Thanks!

Verified reply from Cassie, Community Moderator

Thanks for asking this question! (It gave me the opportunity to play with, uh... inspect, these cool blocks.) Some of the elements you're interested in are on the same block, so you'd need more than one set. Sc and H are on the same block and Er and Y are on the same block. The rest of the elements you requested stand alone.

I saw something like this somewhere else, by Uncle Goose. I was wondering if this is the same thing. If not, what is the difference? Because the Uncle Goose was selling for $33.99. Thank you.

Verified reply from Cassie, Community Moderator

Now you've got us curious, Curious! We do match prices, as long as it's the exact same product at regular price, so we'll need a little more information to determine whether or not the Periodic Table Building Blocks set you have in mind is the one we carry. Please send a copy of the ad where you saw the product for $33.99 to help@uncommongoods.com so we can look into it for you. Thanks for bringing this to our attention!

Would love these for our 10-yr. old who is studying the Periodic Table and individual elements. Question - what does each of the 6 colors designate (for example, purple = noble gases, red = alkali metals)? I would hate to get the set and find the colors are randomly assigned to elements... THANK YOU!! Cool idea!!

Verified reply from Marisa, Assistant community moderator

We're glad you asked - because the colors are random. Our vendor tells us that they wanted to make colors designate categories, but to their disappointment, to do so would have caused the cost of the set to be out of reach for many customers.

What type of paint is used on the blocks?

Verified reply from Cassie, Community Moderator

Thanks for the question! These blocks are colored with a non-toxic, lead-free ink. The ink is made in the United States by a company that does not use any heavy metals and it is independently tested by the product manufacturer.

How many blocks are in the set?

The set includes 20 wooden cubes featuring the full periodic table across their sides.

What material are the blocks made from?

They’re crafted from basswood grown in the Great Lakes region.

Are the inks safe for children?

Yes, the blocks are printed with non-toxic inks in bright colors.

Where are these blocks made?

They are handcrafted in Michigan, USA.

What ages are these suitable for?

Ideal for ages 2 and up for STEM and chemistry learning.