Founders of Chemistry


How did chemistry become the study of electrons and the periodic table? Many great minds were responsible for making discoveries that led to modern chemistry. This video series allows viewers to travel back in time to explore the lives of the most influential men and women in chemistry.

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12 Classroom Resources

  • Video | Atomic Mass, Subatomic Particles | Elementary School, High School, Middle School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. History of the Periodic Table Video

    In this video, Sam Kean tells the story of the development of the periodic table. He also pays tribute to each of the major scientific contributors, including Dimitri Mendeleev, who made great discoveries through their efforts to best organize the elements.

  • Video | Acid & Base Theories, History, Strong vs Weak | High School, Middle School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Acid & Base Guys Video

    This video tells the story of how the definition of acids and bases has evolved from Lavoisier, to Arrhenius, Bronsted-Lowry, and Lewis.

  • Video | History, Model of the Atom, Observations, Physical Properties | Elementary School, High School, Middle School

    Ancient Chemistry Video

    This video traces the history of chemistry from the discovery of fire, through the various metal ages, and finally to the great philosophers.

  • Video | Gas Laws, History, Ideal Gas, Measurements, Mole Concept | High School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Amedeo Avogadro Video

    This video tells the story of Amedeo Avogadro, the scientist given credit for the mole concept, but who discovered other things in chemistry too.

  • Video | Gas Laws, History, Pressure, Volume | Elementary School, High School, Middle School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Robert Boyle Video

    This video tells the story of Robert Boyle, a great chemist and discoverer of Boyle's Law, which describes the relationship between pressure and volume of a gas.

  • Video | Half Lives, History, Radiation, Radioactive Isotopes | Elementary School, High School, Middle School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Marie Curie Video

    This video tells the story about Marie Curie, including her Nobel Prizes, radiation experiments, and discovery of new elements. Irene Curie is also mentioned.

  • Video | Conservation of Mass, History, Measurements, Observations, SI Units | Elementary School, High School, Middle School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Antoine Lavoisier Video

    This video tells the story of Antoine Lavoisier who many consider to be the father or modern chemistry. Lavoisier discovered oxygen and hydrogen and first proposed the Law of Conservation of Mass.

  • Video | Atomic Mass, Atomic Theory, History, Model of the Atom, Periodic Table, Subatomic Particles | Elementary School, High School, Middle School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Dimitri Mendeleev Video

    This video tells the story of how Dimitri Mendeleev organized the periodic table, even leaving gaps to be filled in with elements that weren't yet discovered.

  • Video | Atomic Theory, History, Model of the Atom, Radioactive Isotopes, Subatomic Particles | High School, Middle School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Ernest Rutherford Video

    Rutherford's initial research was studying alpha particles, which he hypothesized were helium nuclei. With the help of Hans Geiger, Rutherford conducted the gold foil experiment, which justifies that the nucleus of an atom is a dense collection of protons and contains the majority of an atom’s mass. It also inferred that most of the atom is empty space and electrons are not located in the nucleus. He won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1908 for his studies on radioactive substances.

  • Video | Accuracy, History, Physical Properties, Temperature | Elementary School, High School, Middle School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. The Temperature Guys Video

    This video tells the story of how temperature as we currently know it evolved. The first thermometers invented in the early 1600s are very different than ones we use today!

  • Video | Atomic Theory, Electrons, History, Model of the Atom, Subatomic Particles | Elementary School, High School, Middle School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Niels Bohr Video

    This video tells the story of Niels Bohr, a great scientist who redefined how we think about atoms and the electron. Bohr’s model of the atom helped to advance understanding of subatomic particles, and holds an important place in the history and development of the atomic theory.

  • Video | Atomic Theory, Atoms, History, Pros Cons of Nuclear Power, Radiation, Radioactive Isotopes | High School, Middle School

    Access is an AACT member benefit. Lise Meitner Video

    This video tells the story of Lise Meitner, a pioneering female scientist in the field of nuclear chemistry, who was denied a Nobel Prize but has an Element named in her honor.

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