Interlocking Periodic Table

All 118 elements as 50 × 50 mm tiles that lock together like a puzzle. The lanthanides and actinides can slot into the transition metals, or sit below with a connector for a more compact table.

Building the table is a lesson in itself: students see periods and groups, find where metals and non-metals are, and learn element symbols as they go.

Design by Aperture Engineering on Printables, shared under CC BY 4.0. The files and photos are the designer's, unchanged.

1. Change filament at 2 mm for raised letters in a second colour. Printing each group (alkali metals, noble gases…) in its own colour makes the families visible.
2. Share the printing out: 118 tiles is a lot for one printer.
3. Students assemble the table, then answer questions by finding tiles ("a noble gas in period 3").