An unusual excitement buzzed through the quad last Friday, October 22nd as students from five different science classes gathered together in celebration of one extraordinary number. For the first time ever, Cathedral students participated in Mole Day, a holiday that has been celebrated by chemistry classes around the world for decades.
From 6:02 AM to 6:02 PM every October, 23rd students express their love of chemistry in honor of Avogadro’s number, an amount that defines the number of particles in one mole of substance. This number, 6.02×1023, matches the date and time on which it is celebrated, 6:02 10/23. Since the 23rd fell on a Saturday this year, the festivities were pushed to Friday instead.
The idea for this fun and quirky holiday began over twenty years ago with an article in The Science Teacher by a Wisconsin chemistry teacher who had an idea that would spread her love of science. In 1991 the National Mole Day Foundation (NMDF) was established; since then, the number of teachers and professors eager to participate has grown into the thousands.
There is even a theme established every year – this year’s theme was Moles of the Caribbean. Traditions vary, but students usually participate in various games, or “Molympics.” If they feel truly inspired, students can recite a special Mole Day Pledge of Allegiance: “I pledge allegiance to the mole, to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, and to the atomic mass for which it stands, one number, most divisible, with atoms and molecules for all.”
“Mole Day is meant to be a fun way to get students excited in chemistry,” said AP Chemistry teacher Dr. Michaela Bertch. “I have wanted to do it for a while, but this year I finally got enough teachers who were willing to participate.”
Teachers could not sacrifice an entire class period of class time for the traditional games. Instead, twenty minutes before the final bell rang last Friday, almost one hundred students gathered in the quad and attempted to spell out a mass picture of Avogadro’s celebrated number, with bodies. Although the digits were too cramped to provide a true aerial view, students defiantly felt the excitement, even if it was just to get out of class a little bit early.
As for next year’s celebration, The Moles of the Round Table, Dr. Bertch thinks teachers might have to skip out. “Maybe we’ll do it every 6.02 years,” she said.