6.022 x 1023 atoms or molecules equals one mole. It’s an easier way of counting used in chemistry classes, however, some people may find it boring and tiring. To fix this problem, an idea was created at a summer workshop about 20 years ago called “The Mole Project”. In class, students are tied by the hand to another student with string or bandanas and sent on a scavenger hunt throughout the school to find questions like “Give the name for the element with the symbol of “C”” and “What is the density of an object that has a mass of 10.00 grams and a volume of 2.00ml?” that are posted outside of various teachers’ classrooms.

“My favorite part was being able to apply chemistry skills in a fun way.” junior Sarah Rutherford said.

This portion of the Mole project takes about half an hour during class, however students may also choose to make a stuffed mole at home for extra credit and bring it in to be judged by classmates and faculty.

“Mole is how they do counting so I let them make little stuffed moles,” chemistry teacher Donna Malkmus said. “It’s fun every year to see how creative they get to be, it’s kind of an artistic side I wouldn’t normally get to see in chemistry.”

Mole themes vary among students from movies to books or just about anything else they can come up with. Students then vote on a winner and the finalists of the classes move on to the “Grand Mole Competition” where their moles will then be judged by faculty members for a winner. The two students who have moved into the Grand Mole Competition are Kristina Forst and Hayley Penning. The winner will be announced during their chemistry class on Thursday.

“The most challenging part about the Mole project is sometimes you have so many good ones it’s hard to pick who gets first, second and third place.” Malkmus said.