The Periodic Table of Chemical Elements, or simply the Periodic Table, unarguably one of the most significant achieveme nts in science. To commemorate its formulation by Dmitry Mendeleev 150 year s ago, UNESCO has declared 2019 as International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements (IYPT-2019). The three premier science institutes of the city, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Jawaharlal Nehru centre for A dvanced Scientific research (JNCASR) and Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sc iences (CeNS) jointly organized a unique science programme conducted at the J.N. Tata Auditorium in the Indian Institute of Science campus on 29th May in which about 700 pre-university level students were invited from 23 diff erent colleges from in and around the City. The seating arrangement itself was carefully designed to have the participants "wear different colours" so as to create a "human periodic table". A series of crisp lectures focussin g on different dimensions of the periodic table and the scientists behind i ts creation were well articulated by eminent researchers, led by Bharat Rat na Prof. C. N. R. Rao, FRS. In the afternoon the whole auditorium complex w as looking like a carnival with activities like Elements at work involving experiments, interactive quiz, dumb charades, play & win game shows, al l highlighting the close association between elements and the periodic tabl e along with a skit on Mendeleev and other great names associated with the periodic table.
