For retired University of Lethbridge faculty member, Dr. Douglas Dolman, seeing the progress of the new Science and Academic Building has been quite thrilling.
Dolman and his wife Teresa met at the University and both worked on campus in the sciences for a number of years. They’re amoung a group of individuals who have contributed to an interactive periodic table that will put science on display and inspire future scientists in the area.
“The Science and Academic Building will be such a wonderful investment for the future of science in southern Alberta,” says Dolman. “I hope that by seeing the many extraordinary elements on display in the periodic table, it sparks something special in the young minds of those who visit the building.”
The periodic table, sized at approximately 10 feet across by 6 feet high, will contain museum-grade samples of the elements themselves that are individually illuminated in cubes. Some elements and cubes can be made to be interactive and others are shown with examples of how it is used in everyday life.
Evelyn Wigham and her late husband Darol Wigham, who were both geologists and have supported children’s education at the U of L previously with their outstanding children’s literature collection in the University Library, have also helped put science on display through their generous support of the project.
The periodic table project has also gained support on campus, particularly in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, who first proposed the project. Drs. Peter Dibble, Marc Roussel, Michael Gerken, Bo Wang and Ying Zheng, as well as retired instructor Robert (Bob) McKay and a number of anonymous donors were early supporters.
“The display will become a regular stop for elementary and high school classes and I intend to develop programs, such as element days, that will feed into such visits and offer members of the public and students opportunities to learn about specific elements, how they are used and why they are so important,” says Dibble.