Researchers travel from around the world to use our collections. 📷 Science History Institute
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The Science History Institute is proud to be invited to join IRLA (Independent Research Libraries Association), a prestigious membership consortium designated for libraries with internationally significant collections and programs. This recognition positions the Institute alongside such esteemed historical organizations as the American Philosophical Society, the Newberry Library, the Getty Research Institute, and the Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library .
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If you missed the livestream of the Institute’s 2022 Heritage Day Awards or want to revisit some of the program’s highlights, you can view a recording of the May 11 virtual celebration honoring exceptional achievements in chemistry, chemical engineering, the life sciences, and allied fields and industries. The 18th annual awards ceremony featured the presentation of the Othmer Gold Medal to Jay Keasling, the Philomathia Professor of Alternative Energy at the University of California, Berkeley, and CEO of the Joint BioEnergy Institute; the Richard J. Bolte Sr. Award for Supporting Industries to Barry Siadat, cofounder and managing director of SK Capital Partners; and the American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal to Brian Hoffman, the Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern University.
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Europium (III) Hydroxide [Eu(OH)₃] under UV light. 📷 Wikimedia Commons
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Google Arts & Culture Digital Exhibition
Discover the illuminating history and science of the rare earth elements with Critical Metals: The Chemistry of Light, our latest Google Arts & Culture digital exhibition that explores the luminescent metals europium (Eu), yttrium (Y), cerium (Ce), and neodymium (Nd), and the radioactive metal thorium (Th).
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Exhibition
On view in our lobby, Enabling Transparency features the work of glass artist and former Science History Institute fellow Anna Mlasowsky, who examines the history of the rare earth elements and their socio-ecological impact on local communities and the environment. The Seattle-based, German-born visual artist was the Institute’s first artist-in-residence.
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Rare Earth Elements Project
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T. T. Chao Symposium on Innovation Presentation
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Watch a talk by Eric Schelter, director of the National Science Foundation’s Center for Sustainable Separations of Metals and professor of chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania. Presented at the Institute’s 2021 T. T. Chao Symposium on Innovation, this annual event explores, celebrates, and encourages innovation and sustainability in the chemical sciences.
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Illustration of the rare earth elements on the periodic table. 📷 Claud Li
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Educational Resources
Enhance your classroom with our Science Matters: The Case of Rare Earth Elements role-playing game. Ideal for high school chemistry classes, students debate the positive and negative perspectives of the rare earth elements from all sides, from producers and activists to manufacturers and consumers.
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Museum Programs & Activities
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Saturday, May 21, 2022
11:00 a.m. EDT
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Dive into a day of family-friendly, Downstream-related activities that includes storytime and exploration of our exhibitions. Family Day takes place the third Saturday of each month. Admission is free and no reservations are necessary. |
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Museum Programs & Activities
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Saturday, May 28, 2022
2:00 p.m. EDT
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Join our museum’s Gallery Guides for a “drop-in” Women in Chemistry Tour highlighting the central role of women in shaping chemistry and the material sciences throughout history. Admission is free and no reservations are necessary. |
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Thursday, June 2, 2022–Saturday, June 4, 2022
$50 per person
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The 2022 Gordon Cain Conference will explore the entanglements of science and labor as they have emerged around the globe between the 16th century and today. An annual gathering of scholars in the history of science and related fields, each conference is organized by an eminent scholar who worked with staff to develop a theme of broad contemporary relevance. The $50 registration fee is waived for graduate students who register by May 19. |
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Museum Programs & Activities
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Saturday, June 11, 2022
2:00 p.m. EDT
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From Rachel Carson to ACT UP, our “drop-in” Science & Activism Tour explores how scientists and activists have shaped discovery and created change with stories of environmental justice, patients’ rights, and community science. Admission is free and no reservations are necessary. |
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Rare earth oxides from top center: praseodymium, cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, samarium, and gadolinium. 📷 Peggy Greb, U.S. Department of Agriculture
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Rare earth metals are the vitamins of modern technology. How did this group of chemically dull elements become so important and so troublesome?
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Rare earth elements are essential to modern life. Luckily the world has plenty of them; unfortunately, getting them out of the ground leaves behind massive environmental damage.
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Rare earth elements make modern devices faster, brighter, and lighter, but it will take the creaky gears of government to make their production cleaner and more equitable.
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Alternative currencies flourish in desperate times and situations.
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This episode of The Disappearing Spoon explores how the daring heist of an anatomical wonder forever sullied the reputation of a great scientist.
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Despite their name, rare earth elements are not actually rare, but some of the items found in our digital collections are:
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The Rare Earth Industry, publication detailing various industrial applications of rare earths and other related elements, 1915
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Set of Postcards Depicting the Welsbach Factory, collection of postcards depicting scenes from the Gloucester, New Jersey-based Welsbach Gas Light Company, which produced incandescent gas lamps that were the first industrial products to use rare earth metals, 1890–1930
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Portrait of Dmitri Mendeleev, photograph of the scientist best known for the creation of the periodic table, circa 1900. 📷 Science History Institute
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Many scientists devised periodic systems in the 1860s, but it is Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev (1834–1907) who is recognized as the father of the periodic table. What set the chemist’s simple chart apart from the others was not his organization of the 63 elements known at the time, but his prediction that some were missing, such as rare earth element scandium (Sc), which was discovered in 1879, 10 years after Mendeleev’s table was created.
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Hach Gallery
Horiba Gallery
DuPont Gallery
Lobby
Building Façade
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Now more than ever it’s important to tell the stories of science. Help us continue this work by supporting the Science History Institute.
You can also support the Institute while shopping on Amazon at smile.amazon.com or by asking Alexa to donate to the Science History Institute.
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