Photo gallery by Abby Temper

Mole Day is annually celebrated by Donna Malkmus’ Pre-AP and General Chemistry classes on Oct. 23. The whole day serves as an opportunity to earn extra credit and review information students have learned up to this point.

“Mole Day is similar to Pi Day, but in recognition of the unit of measurement in chemistry known as the mole,” sophomore Ashley Raster said.

Malkmus’ Mole Day includes a scavenger hunt and the mole project. For the scavenger hunt, students choose a partner to be tied at the wrist with, and from there they search the school for questions to answer. The top three teams who find and answer the most questions correctly in each class receive extra credit.

“I’m most excited for the scavenger hunt,” sophomore Madeline Fields said.

The mole project is an extra credit assignment in which students make stuffed animal moles to remind them the importance of the mole. Students who participated in the assignment are entered in a contest where judges deem their favorite mole projects the winners of more extra credit points.

“I enjoy seeing different moles people make since I don’t really get to see their creative side,” Malkmus said. “I also enjoy hearing about the scavenger hunt after it’s over.”

According to junior Amy Wedewer, people put in a lot of effort into the mole project to receive more extra credit than their peers. This project, different from many school projects, allows students to get very creative, which is an aspect not normally seen in Chemistry or associated with it.

“I’m super excited to show off my mole and to see all the creative mole puns used by my fellow classmates,” Wedewer said.

Because second quarter is significantly harder than the first, the students are often put at ease by the large extra credit opportunity.

“It provides a cushioning grade so students don’t have as much pressure on them for their final,” Malkmus said.