Why do we teach Chemistry? We are all unique, but I am pretty sure many Chemistry teachers keep going back to the classroom for the simple reason that they love it. Today I was teaching the Periodic table to another group of Year 11 students. I have lost count of how many times I have taught this concept, but I am still amazed by the brilliance of Mendeleev and his intuition in knowing there was a ‘gap’ and his ability to predict the properties of the element that would fill the gap. This is the beauty hidden in the wonders of the atom. That despite their complexity, atoms still follow wonderfully simple patterns. And it is this wonder that we are passing onto our students. It is a joyous moment when I see students move from this idea that they are learning facts to discovering they are unlocking the hidden mysteries of the universe. As my fellow Chemistry teacher shared the other day….”They are transcending.”