Image/Graphics by Crystal Gay

Chemistry II students pose in front of the Periodic Table in their matching Mole Day t-shirts.

On October 27th and 28th, West Branch Chemistry students collectively celebrated an observed Mole Day. Mrs. Gay and her students prepared snacks, drinks, activities, and decorations to honor the holiday. 

Mole Day commemorates the “mol,” a unit of measurement used in chemistry to convey a large number of particles in a substance, such as atoms. The value 6.022 x 10²³ denotes the number of units in a mol and is used to convert between mass and the number of particles in a pure substance. It is accredited to Amadeo Avogadro for his hypothesis that equal volumes of different gases contain the same number of particles. Mole Day is held on October 23rd, as a nod to the exponential of Avogadro’s number. For more information on Avogadro’s number and the mole, visit www.moleday.org.

Mole Day celebrations typically surround the animal mole as a play on words. The Honors Chemistry II class held their party on the 27th and worked with Mrs. Gay to prepare activities for the Chemistry I students. They organized Mole Toss or Molehole, Mole Mad Libs, songs, coloring sheets, and a candy guessing game. The group of eight students decorated Mrs. Gay’s classroom and ate a variety of foods as an opportunity to have a relaxing, fun-filled Mole Day. The efforts of Mrs. Gay and Chemistry II students carried into Friday when all three Chemistry I classes held their parties.

The height of festivities occurred when each Chemistry I class participated in games and events planned by their upper-level peers and teacher. Mrs. Gay prompted several mole-incorporated jokes for the students to answer. For example, “What is Avogadro’s favorite kind of music?” “Rock ‘N’ Mole!” Students who guessed the correct punchline were rewarded extra credit in the form of “Mole Bucks,” a system created by Mrs. Gay. Each class received a Mole Rap finale performance from Chemistry II students Jacob Alexander and Braeden Salter. The two students wrote a rap song about Mole Day to the music for the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song. 

The Mole Day 2022 extravaganzas served as an opportunity to return to normalcy after two years. Due to COVID-19, WB Chemistry has not been able to celebrate Mole Day to its fullest. In previous years, students would make a stuffed mole and bring food items. In response to this year’s heightened student interest, Mrs. Gay says, “Thank you for bringing the excitement back to Mole Day.”