About the game
The first twenty elements, one tile at a time
Element Explorer is a free periodic table game for grades 5–8, part of The Active Home Academy — The Active Home’s series for older kids. It turns the first 20 elements into a friendly mini table of color-coded tiles: tap any element to open its lab card, then play four quiz games that build real fluency with symbols, numbers, and positions.
Explore first, then play
- Lab cards for all 20 elements — hydrogen to calcium. Each card gives the atomic number, the element family (alkali metal, halogen, noble gas…), whether it is a solid or gas at room temperature, its group and period, and one memorable fact.
- Symbol match — name ↔ symbol, both directions: what is the symbol for sodium, and which element is K?
- Number game — atomic numbers, the count of protons that makes each element itself.
- Place it — the table goes blank: tap where each element lives.
- Element detective — solve the element from clues about its family, its state, and what it does.
Each game is 10 questions with two tries per question, and earns up to three stars. Stars are saved on the device.
How it plays
- The table is the home screen. No menus to dig through — the color-coded mini periodic table is right there, with a legend for the seven families.
- Gentle scoring. A first-try answer earns 2 points, a second-try answer 1, and a miss shows the right answer with a short explanation.
- Saved on the device. Stars and progress live only on this device — no accounts, nothing sent anywhere.
For parents and teachers
- Standards. Built for grades 5–8, aligned with NGSS MS-PS1-1 (models of atomic composition).
- Real chemistry, kid-sized. Atomic number as proton count, families that behave alike, groups and periods, and everyday hooks — neon signs, table salt, bananas and bones.
- Free, always. No ads, no sign-up, nothing to buy.