For two weeks only, all in-stock Luciteria Science density cubes will be 20% off. Add to your collection today! Use discount code DENSE2021

For years, Luciteria Science has proudly provided high-quality working reference cubes and cultured samples of elements for the casual collector, the all-in enthusiast, the elementary school teacher, and the professional physics laboratory. 

Use discount code DENSE2021

Now, we’re working to make our metal cubes more accessible and affordable than ever before.

Starting March 22nd-April 5th, take 20% off the already low price for our beautifully engraved density cubes, letting you hold the building blocks of the universe right in your hand! Check out some examples below, and be sure to visit our online store for a complete list of what’s available in metal cubes, mirror cubes, rounds, refined crystalline samples, and of course our signature Lucite acrylic sample cubes as well!

Aluminum

Look around your home. Chances are you use aluminum every day: the rims on your car, the “tin” foil you use to cook and cover leftovers, light switches, screws, your computer, your TV—all made from aluminum! Luciteria Science makes this humble, commonplace material exciting and unique to handle with metal cubes of the highest possible purity.

Arsenic

Maybe you want something a bit more—Gothic? Many people don’t realize arsenic is a metalloid. Our arsenic cubes are great educational tools that will inspire conversation, imagination and make a wonderful accent piece for your office or home. Sorry, Old Lace not included!*

Calcium

When most people think of calcium, they probably think of healthy bones and teeth. Luciteria Science’s calcium cubes show off this elemental metal to its best possible advantage, letting you see and in its purest and most refined state.

Copper

If there’s an element more ubiquitous than aluminum, it’s almost certainly copper. Copper lies at the heart of technology, electrical power, and even American currency in the form of the humble penny. These striking cubes are engraved with copper’s periodic information, and also make amazing accent pieces!  Available in both a standard finish and in a mirrored polished finish.  

Gadolinium

Gadolinium is one of the exotics known to chemistry majors as the lanthanides. It’s magnetic and often used in old-style television picture tubes, microwave ovens, and as a contrast dye in medicine (used in MRI scans). As a cube, gadolinium makes a surprisingly beautiful and hefty educational and discussion piece. Stump your friends by testing their knowledge about this lightly regarded element and all the heavy lifting it does for us!   Available in both a standard finish and in a mirrored polished finish.  

Indium

For a metal, indium is very delicate. So delicate, in fact, that you can easily shear through it with tin snips—or a big knife and enough leverage. Because these cubes are so easy to damage, they are shipped in cotton and we strongly recommend they be handled only with your hands. They make a wonderful gift sample for the sensitive soul or the hardcore element collector in your life!

Lead

Lead’s properties are very well known: soft, heavy and dark gray. It’s one thing to know this, and a very different proposition to actually see and hold a pure sample of it in your hand. A fun way to explore lead’s properties and teach kids about different metals. Just don’t let anyone try to make an afternoon snack of it!*

Praseodymium

Magnets, cigarette flints, and even aircraft engines: praseodymium appears in a lot more places than you might expect, although its complicated name and affinity for oxygen makes it one of the lesser-known metals. These cubes have to be shipped in glass vacuum-sealed ampoules to preserve their appearance because in the presence of oxygen they’ll quickly crumble into a whitish powder rather than the handsome black finish you see on our site. A unique addition to any element collection!

Tungsten

Denser than lead, harder than titanium, less reactive than nearly any other metal, and with a higher melting and boiling point than any other metal, tungsten is the unsung king of the metallic elements. Now you can hold this element in the palm of your hands and feel for yourself how much heavier it is than even lead. The spark-erosion process used to create the finish on our tungsten cubes offers the highest possible beauty, form, and function!   Available in both a standard finish and in a mirrored polished finish.  

Yttrium

Highly reactive to oxygen and oxidizing even more readily in water, there’s not much call for yttrium in commercial processes. This exotic metal is difficult to find and even tougher to refine and shape into reference cubes without damaging the finish. However, its sheer rarity makes it a coveted item for many element collectors and private laboratories, as well as a great gift for someone truly unique and one-of-a-kind in your life!   Available in both a standard finish and in a mirrored polished finish.  

This sale only runs until April 5th, and applies to all in-stock Luciteria Science density cubes. 

Don’t miss your chance to pick up our beautiful metal element sample cubes for yourself. Check out the store today and enter discount code DENSE2021  at checkout to get 20% off all metal cubes from Luciteria Science!

*All Luciteria Science samples are safe to handle with proper precautions. They should never be ingested and may pose choking or swallowing hazards for younger children. Adult supervision is strongly recommended for all samples. To keep your samples looking their best, please do not drop or throw these samples, and we suggest handling samples with gloves to prevent finger oils from damaging the finish and as general good handling practices.  

Own the Key Elements Needed for the Future of Green Energy from Luciteria Science!

The future is here, and the picture the best available science paints for us is grim: since 1990, the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere have increased by 35-45%. This means more erratic weather, crop uncertainty, and disasters like the recent winter storms that paralyzed Texas and pounded the Pacific Northwest—and that’s only here in the US! Abroad, the pernicious effects are amplified even more as droughts, natural disasters, and aberrant weather patterns take hold, ravaging nations and reshaping the face of our planet at a pace not seen since the end of the Jurassic Era.

Ultimately, green energy will most likely end up being a balancing act between greener energies’ generation methods like wind, solar, geothermal, and hydroelectric power, and current large-scale generation modalities like nuclear, natural gas, and coal-based energy. The existing challenges to green energy are huge. Mining causes pollution and no one wants a strip mine in their backyard anyway, no matter how crucial or valuable the elements being mined are. Wind and solar energy only work when you have reliable access to the wind and unobscured sunlight. Storing power for later use requires good grid batteries, whose science is in its infancy and which we simply don’t have access to on the scale required to completely go green, even for simple home or personal vehicle use.

We at Luciteria Science have identified these six household elements as the key to the green revolution. As science works to create safer, cleaner, more sustainable energy sources, these green energy elements are going to be on the frontlines of the coming waves of future energy technologies innovation as core components of power plants that develop alternative energies, next-generation electrical vehicles, and hybrids and the batteries needed to electrify cars, houses, and storage for the electricity grid.    

Cobalt

This critical element is used in the lithium-ion batteries integral to the power systems of electric vehicles like Tesla. As more auto manufacturers pivot to emphasize on hybrid and purely electric models, where will all this cobalt to power them come from? 60% of the global supply is currently mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This means the world is in desperate need of a steady supply without the current and projected geopolitical risks of dealing in Congolese cobalt.  Supply deficits are already here and will only get worse as the worldwide lust for this element increases.

Manganese

Manganese Dioxide (EMD) is an essential component in the makeup of modern alkaline and lithium-ion rechargeable batteries. Manganese slashes the manufacturing cost of lithium-ion batteries for use in electric vehicles. Since batteries are a major cost, manganese is critical for electric vehicle (EV) production. The manganese dioxide market was valued at USD 1.25 billion in 2018, and it is expected to grow extensively in the next decade.

Vanadium

Vanadium is vital to the upcoming field of energy storage and particularly stationary energy storage. Stationary energy storage will need to be permanent to allow energy grids to store electricity beyond generation and will be essential for the more efficient next generation of power grids. Vanadium is required for this type of storage to be effective, and its usage is expected to balloon by a 36% rate over the next decade.

 

Carbon

Graphite (powdered carbon) is a key component of batteries used in electric vehicles. By 2033, experts anticipate a 20x increase in demand.

Copper

Copper has been a key driver of every industrial revolution since the 1500s and nothing is changing here. Copper has unmatched thermal and electrical conductivity and is safer than alternatives, making it for all practical purposes the perfect conductive metal.  Renewable energy requires up to 15x more copper per power plant than a conventional power plant.  An electric car requires up to 10x more copper than an internal combustion engine. Copper demand will surge in the next decade and if production keeps up is an open question. Because of this, it seems pretty safe to bet on rising prices for copper.

Nickel

Not the coin which is 75% copper and 25% nickel metal, but the pure element itself; nickel is crucial for the production of electric vehicles and the batteries inside them. Just ask Elon Musk; he cannot find enough of the metal and continues to look for a safe, steady supply.. Nickel mostly comes from Indonesia and the Philippines. The biggest concern with nickel are twofold: not only is there a global shortage, but the mining of nickel has huge environmental costs, requiring astronomical use of water as well as the employment of dangerous chemicals like sulphuric acid and ammonia. Even though they use the buzzword “green energy,” few people ever really stop to think about how truly green it is!

Luciteria Science Is Your Source for Elements Needed for the Future of Green Energy!

Whether you want to educate and inspire others to think toward a greener future, round out your elements collection, or just keep some of these elements close just in case, Luciteria Science is your source for the elements which will be the key players in the clean energy revolution. These elements are essential for reducing air pollutants such as carbon dioxide and other carbon emissions; next-generation alternative energy solutions; and clean transportation and long-lasting fuel cells which will hopefully help power us into a new age that is healthier for human beings and all the inhabitants of the planet. To learn more about these elements, check out the frequently asked questions below!

Frequently Asked Questions About Green Energy Elements from Luciteria Science

Luciteria Science offers you the information you need about the green energy elements you want!

Question: What are nonrenewable resources?

Answer: A nonrenewable resource is any natural resource that cannot be harvested, replenished, or recycled quickly or effectively. Most nonrenewable resources are gathered from the earth’s crust, but there are others. Notable examples of this are coral reefs, redwood forests, fossil fuels, and rare and endangered animal and plant species. The vast majority of metal and critical mineral elements fall under the category of nonrenewable resources, like indium, gallium, and iridium, just to name a few. Iridium is a platinum group metal along with ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, and of course platinum, and its price has increased 150% as science targets it as a possible key catalyst in hydrogen fuel cells. Another example includes the rare earth elements: cerium, dysprosium, erbium, europium, gadolinium, holmium, lanthanum, lutetium, neodymium, praseodymium, promethium, samarium, scandium, terbium, thulium, ytterbium and yttrium. These elements appear in low concentrations in the ground and as they become ever more popular as potential solutions to the problems of green energy, they are likely to become even more scarce and expensive to acquire. As these resources are depleted, the search for alternatives becomes ever more imperative.

Question: Can hydrogen be used as renewable energy?

Answer: Research on efficient hydrogen production is one of the next-generation energy sources which are being researched, including harvesting hydrogen as a byproduct of hydropower generation and desalination. The problem with hydrogen fuel cell technology currently appears to be their stability, as well as creating an effective hydrogen storage matrix and extraction methodology. However, if another, more efficient method of extraction and energy storage could be found, it could revolutionize the world’s energy supply and conceivably change the nature of energy consumption. The platinum group metals mentioned previously are at the forefront of hydrogen fuel cell research and technology development, and demand is growing exponentially as science starts taking a longer look at these elements for their green energy potential.

Question: Is renewable energy bad for the environment?

Answer: Over time, pivoting away from nonrenewable energy resources to renewable energy technologies like geothermal electricity, wind power, and more efficient solar photovoltaic cell methods may help reduce the need for environmental remediation from the impact on the environment of natural gas and other fossil fuel extraction, refinement, transmission, and use. However, the challenges still ahead of us in terms of making this leap are immense and the existing barriers are significant.

Obvious problems include sourcing and mining the necessary elements, many of which are rare and difficult to find and obtain. Many of the richest known deposits of these elements are in geopolitically unstable countries, driving up both the difficulty and risk associated with accessing them, which in turn raises the cost. Elements like copper and nickel are already hovering at near-record prices, and the more in demand they become, the more this cycle will perpetuate itself.

Some of the more esoteric issues include problems with the reliability of grid storage and preventing energy loss from battery leaching. Currently, there is no recycling plan or available facilities for solar panels and wind turbines, or the elements they contain, leading to increased landfill usage. It seems likely that even if we can manage a complete pivot away from fossil fuels within the next generation or two, nuclear energy will have to be in the mix for long-duration power generation until we sort out the resolutions to these issues.

As we find and perfect more renewable energy resources, there is a very good chance we will also find ways to generate more energy, more efficiently, using the side effects of fossil fuel-based energy while removing them from the ambient environment. This would foster more sustainable development and usage of limited natural resources, reduce the social impact of pollution and allow more renewable resources to replenish more quickly. However, that time still appears a long way off unless we make significant strides in storage and exotic element recycling technology, as well as the industrial-level, cost-effective mass creation of stable, reliable rare earth elements in a laboratory setting necessary for renewable energy to become feasible for widespread use on the global level. Off-planet mining among the asteroid belt and possibly even on the moon and Mars may also have to be factored into this in the future, but the technology for such a massive off-world effort currently appears even further away than the development of reliable hydrogen fuel cells and long-term green energy storage batteries.

Question: With the demand for rare earth metals on track to explode in support of new energy technologies, how can the world safely transition to sustainable energy?

Answer: With nearly nine billion people on the planet already and more on the way, the quest to reduce carbon emissions and the overall carbon footprint of humanity through efficient energy has become more crucial than ever. Elements of renewable energy production include hydroelectric power stations, kinetic energy, nuclear power, offshore wind and solar energy, geothermal power generation, and other technologies. By embracing these technologies as part of both public and private energy policy, governments and industry can assist the world’s energy transition away from fossil fuels and reduce the environmental impacts of greenhouse gas emission while providing safe, energy-efficient heating and lighting for hundreds or thousands of millions of people around the globe.

Question: Where will the materials for our clean energy future come from?

Answer: We already have them! Elements like copper, zinc, nickel, cobalt, carbon, vanadium, and manganese are already here on the planet. Synthetic plastics which are developed from plants and are stronger and lighter than conventionally sourced petroleum-based plastics are currently being evaluated by the physical sciences, engineering, and mathematicians for their potential applications in wind farm technology. Lighter, more efficient wind turbines which require less wind energy to produce electricity could be one of the primary power sources of the latter half of the twenty-first century. The problem with actually using these materials is twofold. First, we need to convince people that renewable resources development will create jobs without sacrificing our current standard of living. Second, we need to convince the United Nations and its member nations of the benefits of pursuing next-generation technologies and materials. The more people we have working on the problem, the more likely it is that we can conserve nonrenewable resources and develop safer, cleaner, cheaper energy for everyone!

Luciteria Science is proud to be your premier supplier for green energy elements samples which let you excite, educate, inspire and dream of a better world. To learn more about green energy elements and add these beautiful specimens to your collection, click here!

Luciteria Science Presents: Glass Dome Samples...

At Luciteria Science, we are proud to offer only the finest, highest-purity elements in a variety of formats to please the most discerning connoisseur, distinguishing student, or discriminating collector. We specialize in presenting element samples in ways other dealers cannot match in terms of pure aesthetic value and refinement. Some examples of this include:

Now, we’re pleased to up the ante even higher and set an entirely new standard for quality, beauty, and workmanship with our special glass domes!

This unique 3x2” (80x45mm) hermetically sealed glass domes are designed to showcase the exquisite uniqueness and natural beauty of each element sample with unparalleled craftsmanship. Every dome contains a specific mass of the element it represents in its purest and most beautiful natural state, from the gorgeous snowflake-like crystals of titanium to the elongated tubes of lead to the brilliant orange orb of bromine. These samples’ purity and elegance are rivaled only by their rarity and beauty, worthy of a Sultan’s palace, the world’s finest museums of natural history or the most dedicated curators. Despite their uniform mass and dimensions, each sample is as strikingly individual as the people and institutions who collect them, assuring that every glass dome is a one-of-a-kind work of art all its own.

Luciteria Science offers glass dome samples of the following elements and more to come:

Antimony

This very fragile semi-metal easily crumbles into dust. Usually, it doesn’t look this nice. But Luciteria Science’s glass dome antimony samples showcase beautiful antimony crystals in polygonal shapes like rhombuses, dihedrons, tetrahedra, and more!

Arsenic

Quick to oxidize and so toxic it inspired a play and later a movie, arsenic is the stuff of both dreams and nightmares. In a deoxidized environment, arsenic crystals over an inch in length are possible. Arsenic samples in glass domes from Luciteria Science contain 150g of pure arsenic crystal and are restricted for sale to established customers only.

Beryllium

You don’t exactly stumble across rods of beryllium on your afternoon constitutional. When Luciteria Science went looking for beryllium, our search led us to the former Soviet Union—and decommissioned nuclear missiles! While we’re not sure if it’s true, the expense and difficulty of finding and machining beryllium, coupled with its scarcity and the cool story associated with it, make the 80g of beryllium contained in each glass dome sample well worth the purchase price!

Bromine

With over-the-top corrosiveness and mesmerizing beauty, bromine can destroy an iPhone in an impressive fashion. Luciteria Science has encapsulated this beautiful but deadly element in a glass sphere with a brilliant red color assured to mesmerize and captivate even the most jaded collector!

Calcium

Ethereally light and surreally beautiful, calcium makes some seriously trippy structures when its atoms are allowed to grow unchecked by outside influences. Luciteria Science’s calcium glass domes are truly a feast for the eyes for both the hardened science geek and the connoisseur of the beautiful alike!

Cadmium

This sample of cadmium reveals otherworldly geometry that demonstrates sharp, shard-like intersections at shallow angles to create blades. Interfering in the progress of their growth causes them to terminate in secondary bulbous structures. If there was ever an element that showcases the chaos of war and can represent the inherently contradictory nature of the human mind, crystalline cadmium in glass dome displays from Luciteria Science is surely it!

Lead

The thick knotted wire sculpture housed within this glass dome makes for a very bold presentation of astoundingly pure lead. At 99.999% a couple of ounces inside costs nearly three times the going rate for silver just for the base material. While lead is almost certainly the last item most collectors would think of in terms of beauty or aesthetic value, in this form Luciteria Science thinks even the most ennui-stricken enthusiast will see lead in a whole new light!

Magnesium

Notorious for its energetic reaction to air and water, magnesium is the second lightest metal known to humankind. For decorative purposes, in this dome, we have a flower-like crystal of ultrapure magnesium. It is easily the most beautiful, striking, and visually delightful representation of magnesium ever seen—brought to you in glass dome form by Luciteria Science!

Manganese

As presented by Luciteria Science in glass dome sample format, this lab-generated manganese crystal is grown in a vacuum machine well away from the spoiling effects of oxygen. The intricate branching patterns formed to make for a truly impressive presentation piece of this unusual, and unusually brittle, element great for the classroom, the office, or the science lab!

Samarium

Samarium is arguably the most attractive of all the rare earth metals as it forms beautiful dendrites at 99.99% or higher purity. Unfortunately, samarium is quite vulnerable to atmospheric oxygen which turns the metal dull gray within a matter of weeks. However, in a glass dome from Luciteria Science, the samarium crystal within will stay looking bright and fresh thanks to its being pumped full of argon gas, keeping it brilliant, beautiful, and eye-catching no matter where you choose to display it!

Strontium

Of all the elements, strontium ranks among the most fragile and vulnerable to corrosion. The light brassy color is an unintended artifact and testament to this fragility. But behind this glass dome, that big crystal will remain a thing of breathtaking beauty for as long as the glass and its seals don’t break. And you can only get them through Luciteria Science!

Tellurium

Even among rare earth elements, tellurium is a bit of an oddball. Looking a bit like a metal pineapple in the process of exploding in crystalline form, tellurium is most commonly used as a superconductor in the computer industry. Sealed in a glass dome, tellurium offers a strikingly strange display that will leave students speechless, collectors breathless, and visitors in awe!

Titanium

Named for the Titans, the progenitors of the gods of ancient Greece, titanium is one of the best-known and strongest metals in the periodic table. At 99.999% this sample is the highest purity available to the general consumer. In its crystalline form as presented by Luciteria Science, an ounce worth of spikes and needles crouches beneath the glass dome-like a prickly metal monster, waiting to be unleashed.

Zinc

Zinc doesn’t get much love among the elements Luciteria Science offers, because of its relative ubiquity and the difficulty inherent in keeping it pristine in a normal environment, but it has a subtle cyan color that becomes obvious when placed next to another metal like steel. A lab-grown crystal takes on a number of very interesting textures that beckon the viewer’s attention. The protective glass dome will maintain the delicate structure intact for as long as it doesn’t break.

Luciteria Science offers the finest, purest element samples around at the best possible prices!

We’ve made our name producing beautiful signature representations of the elements, including some exotic presentations which no other manufacturer has successfully managed to date, such as glass domes. Of course, as we roll out our new glass dome element samples, we are continuing to add to, refine and expand our selection of other sample elements for your elements collection. If glass domes aren’t your jam, or you want to flesh out your elements collection with samples sized for our proprietary Lucite acrylic display cases, take a look at some of the striking options we have below! We’re confident you can find the perfect piece and shape for yourself or the hardcore element hound in your life!

Metal Cubes

Luciteria Science’s metal cubes are 99+% pure, working density cubes suitable for the laboratory, classroom, private collection, or any other pursuit. Engraved with the name, symbol, periodic number, and atomic mass of the element of which it is made, each metal cube is machined to the most exacting tolerances and stringent standards to ensure they are worthy specimens for display and functionality regardless of the uses to which they will be put.

Mirror Cubes

Just like the metal cubes, Luciteria Science’s mirror cubes are crafted to precise standards and measurements and bear the element’s name, atomic symbol, periodic table number, and mass. Unlike the metal cubes, these mirror cubes are polished to a fine, shining mirror finish which highlights the appearance of each element in a way only Luciteria Science has been able to fully perfect. These beautiful cubes are designed to delight the eye and the touch of the scientist, aesthete, and student alike!

Lucite Cubes

Our signature, non-yellowing, crystal-clear Lucite acrylic cubes encase either crystals or ampoules of the element they represent in their purest natural form and are the basis for our name. These virtually indestructible cubes require special tools and dedicated effort to mar, crack or break, keeping the elements they contain safely locked within. Machined to the same tight specifications as our metal and mirror cubes and bearing the same atomic information, these cubes are designed to be objets d’art just as much as tools for learning, letting students and enthusiasts of all ages view the elements in a way they may never have seen before.

Bullion

Luciteria Science is proud to offer certain elements in our one-of-a-kind, 99.2+% pure or betterone-troy-ounce bullion stamped with the name, atomic number, mass, and symbol of the element, as well as the insignia of Luciteria Science so there is no question you possess the genuine article from the genuine source. Whether you want to keep these as a part of your investment portfolio*, as a collector’s item, or simply for the pleasure of being able to handle exotic elements in a way no one else can provide, Luciteria Science elemental bullion is a terrific gift for collectors, investors and science buffs of all stripes!

Luciteria Science has been breaking the mold and presenting the best, most breathtaking element samples and formats for years by creating our own unique versions for elements enthusiasts of every age, knowledge level, and interest. With our new glass dome sample format, we believe we’ve found the perfect marriage of beauty and scientific information to delight visitors, fellow collectors, students, and scholars alike. Supplies of these visually arresting glass domes are highly limited and are sure to sell quickly. Be sure to order yours today and be the first in your circle to get this one-of-a-kind element sample from Luciteria Science, your source for the finest and most beautiful element samples on the market today!

*Investing in any form of metals, including exotic elements, is a personal choice which depends on your specific financial situation and risk tolerance. When purchasing any asset for investment purposes, Luciteria Science strongly recommends speaking with a qualified financial advisor to ensure you fully understand the benefits and risks inherent in such investment before proceeding, and that you are prepared to assume such benefits and risks as an informed consumer. Luciteria Science cannot and will not assume liability for market fluctuations in elemental metal valuation over time.

Elements needed in the future green energy economy.

Come back soon!

Luciteria Science 2020 Year In Review

It’s pretty fair to say 2020 has been one wild year, whether it was good, bad, or simply—odd. At Luciteria Science, we’ve had a great year—and it’s all thanks to you, our customers, and friends in the scientific and element collection community! We’re glad to be part of so many people’s journey to appreciating science and discovering the building blocks of our universe: the elements themselves.

Why Elements?

With rockstar scientists like Raven the Science Maven, “Dr. Tre,” Baba Brinkman and of course Bill Nye and Neil Tyson DeGrasse cementing their celebrity cred while they drop actual science facts to a cross-generational audience, interest in “hard” sciences such as physics, chemistry, engineering, and astronomy has exploded. This interest is growing exponentially and daily, fueled by unprecedented access to remote learning and self-study options. Kids who, twenty years ago, might have chosen chess, dance, music, or art lessons are now picking elective STEM classes instead of or in addition to the arts. This trend is hugely important in the long term because it is the students who couple innate creativity and a solid grounding in STEM who are most likely to be our future leaders in the fields of medicine, physics, mathematics, and engineering. They will be able to see both the structural elegance and the inherent beauty in our world, using that ability and knowledge to create an even better one.

With the various lockdowns and stay-at-home orders in many jurisdictions, element collecting has become one of the fastest-growing hobbies in the world. It allows parents and teachers to educate, inspire, and excite children about STEM/STEAM while they learn more about what they, and their world, are made of. It also facilitates bonding and encourages multigenerational engagement, learning, and play, such as when folks go out in the wild and look for things made up of elements they have in their collection. Inexpensive to start, easy to store, and fun to use, Luciteria Science’s elements collections have helped transform an interesting niche pastime into a major learning tool that is fun and exciting for the whole family or classroom!

New Products From Luciteria

Luciteria Science has introduced new product offerings to our line of basic and refined element samples during 2020 and have many more planned in the year ahead. Suitable for a working scientific laboratory or classroom, these samples and our signature Lucite acrylic display cases are also designed to be objects of art in their own right for the collector, the decorator or anyone wanting to add a unique flash and flair to their office or home. In addition to our non-yellowing, virtually indestructible Lucite acrylic cubes and custom elements cubes, Luciteria Science added:

• First and only in the world, element bullion bars stamped with the Luciteria Science logo and the name, atomic number, and minimum purity of the element in question. Each one is a full Troy ounce of the element and at least 99.2% purity

• Education Sets which bundle common and rare elements into “starter kits” for the classroom, the home elements enthusiast, or the laboratory, at discount prices

• Greatly expanded our density mirror cube lineup  which form metallic elements into polished, gleaming, lustrous cubes suitable for working scientific use and also as objets d’art

• Added additional density cubes to our lineup including iodine, acid sketched silicon, and different color niobium cubes.  

• Element Rounds

• PureElement Samples including our new 1 gram thorium metal samples which no one else is offering.

• Element Sample Vials

• Our new element crystal lineup includes 24 laboratory grown pure element crystals.  These are top of the line element crystals, many grown just for Luciteria at specialty labs worldwide.  These crystals are all top of the line samples of the elements they represent, visually striking and just plain beautiful especially for crystal lovers.  Luciteria is proud to offer the largest collection of pure element crystals in one location available on the internet. 

• And of course, our specially designed and crafted Lucite acrylic displays, which house and show off your collection to its best advantage.  Some of our new Lucite cubes this year include some very rare and hard to obtain elements including americium, actinium, pure fluorine, francium, plutonium, and protactinium.  Keep in mind these are the actual elements, not picture cubes which we have for all of these elements too.

All of these exciting products are available in the Luciteria Science store, so be sure to take a look at our various collections. We have an element sample set sure to please even the most discriminating collector, and we will only be adding new products frequently in 2021 and beyond, so be sure to check back often for the latest information!

Element Collections in the News

In 2020, Luciteria Science spent a lot of time in the news for the beauty and scientific value of our collections and our pioneering proprietary processes for creating the samples from the purest possible sources. From the world’s first known attempt to create a cube of solid iodine to an evaluation of the melting process for tungsten by one of the most popular science YouTube channels, Luciteria Science and our elements collections are getting noticed across the planet! Our educational toy sets even made a feature in Science Times, and to date, it is one of our most visible and well-received articles. Be sure to see the links at the bottom of this article for more information on these exciting developments!

As we’ve grown in popularity, Luciteria Science has established itself as a leading source of unique element samples for element enthusiasts of all ages. From students to emeritus scientists, our signature elements have set a new standard for both aesthetic display and practical use.  In addition, be on the lookout in 2021 for Luciteria products to be carried by some well-known internet retailers as we expand our reseller network and continue to grow.

As we look forward to 2021, we have many new products and refinements to existing offerings in the works. We hope you’ll join us often and share the joy and excitement of holding the stuff of which our universe is made in the palm of your hand with those you love and care about!

From all of us at Luciteria Science, we want to wish you and yours a safe, healthy, and happy 2021—and beyond!

Links to News from Luciteria

https://business.facebook.com/luciteria/posts/1385864178269013?__tn__=-R

https://business.facebook.com/luciteria/posts/1483942161794547?__tn__=-R

https://business.facebook.com/luciteria/videos/321912115725492/?__xts__

https://luciteria.com/metal-cubes/iodine-cube-999?fbclid=IwAR22uBhdOqIaSSNGtuFfG-L-jhvrCsRd07P1YKM4tVBgrdFAaLii6pLllAw

https://www.instagram.com/p/CBJM3lhBp3E/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCtfqBJJkIY/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CBgRcZhFLrg/https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/27495/20200928/toys-are-kid-stuff-luciteria-science-begs-to-differ.htm?fbclid=IwAR0o80v1ON65DX85nNIrBNa5BoMJ_8xD8X3W2KRyKUOwYb4MxzfP1pr00jU

Featured in our first scientific supply catalog

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How To Start A Periodic Table With Real Elements Collection

2020 has so far proven a crushing disappointment to many people who grew up in the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. The technology we expected to have mastered by now, such as flying cars and hoverboards, are still in their infancy. For the most part, humanity remains bound to our planet. However, some very cool things have also happened in the past 40-plus years. 

For Luciteria, perhaps the most exciting has been finding innovative ways to transform a two-dimensional chemistry chart or textbook picture of the elements into a three-dimensional interactive periodic table with real elements! 

For element collection connoisseurs who follow Dr. Theodore Gray’s definitive works on the periodic table, or casual kitchen collectors who do it as a hobby, there has never been a better time to flesh out their collections! As 2020 draws to a close, Luciteria Science is pleased to offer our proprietary desk display of the Lucite acrylic periodic table with actual elements, designed to fit our specially manufactured, museum-quality pure element cubes and Lucite acrylic cube element samples. These make the elements less expensive and more accessible, safe, and exciting than ever before!

Luciteria offers collectable sample types in a number of formats, including:

1.  Density cubes of the elements in perfect cubes, available in 10mm³, 25.4mm³ (1-inch³) and 50mm³ sizes

2. Lucite acrylic art cubes, where we take beautiful element samples and have them embedded in pure Lucite acrylic. Great for all elements and allows even gases, unstable alkali metals, etc. to be safely displayed. Note: Unstable elements or elements which only exist in a laboratory setting are represented by beautiful photographs suitable to the element, such as einsteinium. Luciteria offers a periodic table display case for these too:  https://luciteria.com/element-cubes/large-acrylic-elements-display-case

3. Element rounds, our most affordable way to collect elements.  We have a special display case for these too. 

4. Bullion, our recently released latest offering, featuring one troy ounce (31.1g) of 99.2+% elemental samples.

Be sure to check back regularly, as Luciteria Science is always adding new options and inventory for our customers’ convenience and element collecting pleasure!

Actual Elements for Enhanced Learning

Not everyone learns the same way. Some people learn best by reading a textbook. Some people need to see the actual thing under discussion to properly understand, file, and assimilate the information. Others need to engage all the senses, insofar as they can do so safely: sight, smell, touch, taste, and sound. For obvious reasons, we don’t suggest eating alkali metals or any other element samples! Likewise, gases such as xenon, krypton, argon, neon, helium, oxygen, nitrogen, and halogens don’t exactly lend themselves to open-air experimentation.   

So how do you incorporate a periodic table with real elements into your chemistry, physics, or general science classroom safely for the teacher, students, and general public alike?

Fortunately, Luciteria Science has the answer readily available to customers of every type and need. Our chemical elements display allows you to add the perfect individual element samples for lessons in labs, kids’ teaching, school day, birthday gifts, as holiday gifts/crafts for the chemistry lovers in your life, or as a fun token of appreciation for science teachers or science lovers of any sort, for less money than you might expect. There’s never a bad reason to give a little bit of the building blocks of our universe from the tiniest particles to the heart of a star. Luciteria Science’s unique desk element periodic table display with real element samples makes learning about and exploring the natural world fun and exciting in a way no one else can!

Some advantages of the periodic table of elements collection Luciteria Science has on offer include:

• First quality, real samples of all possible stable elements at the best possible prices

• Reference density sample cubes suitable for work in labs in the USA, United Kingdom and around the world 

• Safe to handle

• Ideal gift for a teacher or for home schooling

• Fun educational toys

• Endlessly reusable teacher supplies

• Stunning table display with elements in an exciting interactive form

• Labeled with scientifically accurate information in an attractive design

• Increased student-teacher interaction and engagement

• Purchase individual elements or complete sets

• Ideal for school science labs

• Perfect gift for private collectors

• Great heirloom and heritage items to pass down to future generations of science enthusiasts

• Great to examine under a magnifying glass

• Fast, accurate shipping and delivery to any country the United States currently trades with (some exclusions and limitations apply; please see the end of this article for more information)

• Exceptional customer feedback and high individual satisfaction

• All our products are guaranteed to be the real deal, held to the highest quality and purity standards possible!

• Our Lucite acrylic cubes are beautiful and stunning element samples encased in pure, non-yellow, Lucite acrylic resin.  Designed to last forever and nearly indestructible, these signature Lucite acrylic cubes are sold individually or as a complete set as a special order, for those who prefer to appreciate these elements in their purified natural form. Click here to learn more.

• We also offer individual samples in round format, as well as a complete collection of rounds with their own display cases! Click here to learn more.

Keep reading for more information about our element periodic table collections!

Frequently Asked Questions About How to Start a Periodic Table with Real Elements Collection

Question: Why is it important to invest in a periodic table?

Answer: Whether you’re providing samples for a learning or academic environment, an amateur elements enthusiast or element collecting is your life’s work, it’s hard to think of a cooler or more interesting way to display your collection of elements in the periodic table than with real samples of the actual elements! Before Luciteria Science came along, many collectors had to settle for collecting things made from the elements as their representations because it was close to impossible to lay hands on the actual refined elements unless you represented a large industry or a university with nearly unlimited resources to buy such curiosities. While a great many collectors still start their element collecting this way, many people found this helpful, having access to the “real” periodic table. 

Our actual periodic table with real elements owes a heavy debt of gratitude to the work of Dr. Theodore Gray, an Ig Nobel Prize winner in chemistry who has written a series of comprehensive books on the elements, compounds, general chemistry and many more topics. Gray is renowned in science circles as the seminal pure element samples collector, and is certainly one of the most vocal and well-known proponents of element collection as a learning tool, hobby and aesthetic device. Rather than, or in addition to, posters for kids or a photographic card deck of the elements, a 3D interactive periodic table adds a distinct dimension to any collection which is hard to beat. Also, for the price, Luciteria Science offers the best purity and quality around, backed by our complete customer satisfaction guarantee!

Question: What elements are included in your periodic table collection?

Answer: We have several sets available for sale, depending on what you’re interested in. Some people just want “the basics,” elements made in the USA easily. It goes up from there depending on how elaborate you want to get, which countries and suppliers we need to work with to source scarcer elements and how much money you want to spend, although you can save quite a bit more over the regular price on our higher-end sets. At the highest end are 99.5+% pure cubes of precious metals like gold, silver and platinum. Our sets make it easy to order in bulk rather than individually load items to cart and manage payment separately. Whichever set you want, we want to make sure you get the right one that you feel is worth the money! Click here to see a complete description of our available element cube sets and rounds, for those who want another option for their displays. Click here to see a complete description of our available element round sets! 

Question: How far do your periodic table displays go?

Answer: We offer representative, working, 99.5+%-pure samples or representations of every element from hydrogen, #1 up to and including lawrencium, #103. Some of these elements’ raw forms must be excluded for obvious reasons, such as instability, volatility or the fact they exist only in a laboratory setting under very unusual and rigidly controlled circumstances. Currently, we have a selection of 63 pure elemental cubes. Some of these cubes are encased in argon in a glass ampoule so they won’t crumble or turn to dust. All these elements are also available in our Lucite acrylic element cubes. As for the remaining 40, which cannot be effectively or safely refined or handled in their raw form, we use crystal clear, pure bubbles such as with chlorine and fluorine gas or plutonium. Elements which are rare, dangerous or only exist in a laboratory are represented by beautiful photographs embedded within Luciteria Science’s signature Lucite acrylic cubes, which are engraved with the element’s name, atomic symbol and number. Our 100% made in the USA acrylic periodic table displays with real elements in cube, round or vial form are designed to allow the samples to fit snugly and securely, allowing you to show off your collection on a wall (with additional mounting hardware), your desk or anywhere you have a little extra space!

Question: Is it true this collection contains real uranium?

Answer: Yes! Like any other element cube you can buy from Luciteria Science, we offer only the purest possible uranium, and lots of people have viewed this item. Uranium gets a bad rap because it has been famously used in nuclear weapons as well as a prop or MacGuffin in movies, TV, comic books and thriller novels, so it will certainly get you some attention around the office if you show up with a cube of it! Uranium is perfectly legal to own in a small quantity in the United States, so you don’t need to edit your browsing history or worry about a visit from the Department of Energy. (Sorry, we can’t ship uranium outside the USA.) 

While uranium is radioactive, it is safe to have on your desk, for example. Uranium emits a type of radiation known as gamma rays, which are very weak, contrary to what the origin story of the Incredible Hulk would have you believe. At as little as one inch away from the sample, the radiation a uranium sample emits is essentially the same as background radiation and thus harmless. You could carry a cube of uranium around in your pocket for a year and get about the same exposure as you would from a single CT scan. Of course, excessive handling or eating it would be a bit of a bad idea! 

Uranium has a half-life of roughly 4.5 billion years, which means the exposure you can expect to get is far less than most people believe. This element is used and handled all the time in industry, including in all aircraft, where it is employed as a counterbalance in the nose! Uranium’s density makes it ideal for “tank-killer” rounds used by the military, launched by tanks, rockets or from aerial platforms such as the infamous A-10 Warthog, which is essentially a Gatling gun with a plane built around it. Due to its rarity, the difficulty of refining and machining it, and sale and shipping regulations, uranium is one of our most expensive element cubes, although it is available in Lucite acrylic element cube and round form which are less expensive. Luciteria Science offers delivery of uranium only to customers within the United States.

Question: At what point would your periodic table be harmful to you?

Answer: With proper care and reasonable handling, and as long as you don’t eat, lick or otherwise ingest the samples, having a complete periodic table with real sample elements spanning all 103 available elements and cube representations is perfectly safe. The more potentially hazardous elements are encased safely in our nearly indestructible, eco-friendly signature Lucite acrylic cubes with big, beautiful engraving . The acrylic cube collection offers zero risk or issues. All elements are safely encased.  Keep in mind some of these elements are very reactive to air or water, such as sodium, potassium, or cesium.  These elements could be dangerous, but encased in acrylic are harmless, almost impossible to obtain outside of a lab and will last a lifetime. Other examples include mercury, which is toxic to handle; bromine, which is very reactive and toxic; and thallium, which is extremely toxic. When encased in acrylic, these are all safe, harmless desktop displays. Because our Lucite acrylic cubes don’t crack, yellow or get cloudy with age as long as you polish them with a soft cloth after handling to get the oils from your hands off them, they also prevent any hazards associated with their presents unless someone actively sets out to destroy the cube using specialized tools. Also, for elements such as radium, we source only very small samples of it from antique watch hands, encased safely in Lucite acrylic cubes, to eliminate radiation risk. Due to its rarity and radioactivity, technetium is another element that is only available in Lucite cube format. 

To see our complete selection of rounds, elemental metal cubes, Lucite cubes, bullion and more, click their names or click here for our homepage!

Luciteria Science ships to most countries around the world. Again, please note uranium can only be shipped within the US. We accept Visa, Mastercard, AmEx, PayPal and Apple Pay. We also sell on Amazon for those with Amazon Prime accounts, Amazon gift cards or wishing to pay in currencies other than USD, although samples and available sets on the Amazon store may vary from those available on our website. Upon your verified purchase, we will ship your order as quickly as possible, usually within 1-2 business days. Skip the lines this holiday season and click here to start your periodic table with real elements collection today!

Introducing Elemental Bullion from Luciteria Science!

When you think of bullion, what’s the first thing that pops to mind? Is it a Spanish galleon with holds full of silver ingots? Bunkers at Fort Knox stuffed to the rafters with bright gold bricks, guarded by grim-faced folks with lots of firepower and no sense of humor? Bank vaults? Heist movies?

Chances are whatever you’re picturing in your head, you’re probably imagining the purest possible representation of that element—and now Luciteria Science offers elemental bullion which fits in the palm of your hand!

Just like our other element samples, our bullion consists of at least 99.2% pure elemental metal, in a convenient portable format. Each die-cast piece measures 30mm x 30mm (1.1811 inches by 1.1811 inches) and weighs exactly one troy ounce or 31.1 grams. Cast with the Luciteria Science logo, the name and atomic number of the element, and the purity of the sample, these bullion bars offer a new and exciting way to interact with the building blocks of our universe, in a convenient, one of a kind format offered only by Luciteria Science!

Our bullion isn’t just a nifty new way to learn about the elements. 

Like silver, gold, and platinum, these pieces represent a real opportunity for investors and speculators of all sorts. There are only 62 metallic elements that are currently known and can be worked this way. Many of them are difficult to source, because of their rarity and the fact only a handful of politically unstable countries produce them. 

Because of these elements’ importance to science, industry, the military, and core services we rely on every day for our standard of living, political or other destabilization in these countries could cause the value of these elements to explode. For example, as of this writing, Elon Musk and Tesla are finding it difficult to source nickel, which is a key ingredient in the batteries on which Tesla vehicles run. As demand rises, so does the price. This positions nickel bullion and other nickel formats as potentially far more valuable than their initial sale price over time.

Luciteria Science sources its metals from trusted suppliers the world over. Each element is bulk certified by the provider at the time of purchase. We stand 100% behind each element bullion bar we offer with our guarantee that the bullion bar you purchase will be at least 99.2% pure and exactly one troy ounce of the element imprinted on the bar. Luciteria Science does not include independent lab certification of each bar, as this would drive the purchase price up to an unfeasible degree. For those who wish, an independent accredited laboratory can be retained to perform elemental purity testing and verify the quality and content of the bullion.

Luciteria Science currently plans to bring the same elements we have brought to the market with our element density cube line to the bullion bar product lineup. 

We are planning on releasing a total of 62 bullion types beyond the first 19 already on our website, give or take a few as some may prove too expensive or too difficult to work within this format. We are actively working on numerous different elements right now and plan to release a new batch shortly. The good news is, as we evolve our offerings, we can use some of what we learned from our density cube and initial bullion run manufacturing to speed up the process the next time around.  

As of now, the 19 pure elemental bullion options Luciteria Science offers include:

Cadmium Bullion 99.95% pure

Cobalt Bullion 99.96% pure

Dysprosium Bullion 99.9% pure

Erbium Bullion 99.9% pure

Gadolinium Bullion 99.9% pure

Hafnium Bullion 99.9% pure

Holmium Bullion 99.9% pure

Iron Bullion 99.9% pure

Lutetium Bullion 99.95% pure

Nickel Bullion 99.5% pure

Niobium Bullion 99.9% pure

Samarium Bullion 99.9% pure

Scandium Bullion 99.9% pure

Tantalum Bullion 99.9% pure

Terbium Bullion 99.95% pure

Titanium Bullion 99.5% pure

Ytterbium Bullion 99.99% pure

Yttrium Bullion 99.9% pure

Zirconium Bullion 99.2% pure

Each piece is guaranteed to meet minimum purity standards and to weigh precisely 31.1g, or 1 troy ounce. They are precision die-cast to ensure they meet strict measurement tolerances and help frustrate attempts at counterfeiting or forgery. The dimensions of each bar are 30mm x 30mm, but the depth of each bar will vary based on the mass of the element of which it is composed. Heavier elements will be thinner than lighter ones to ensure uniformity of weight!

Like with any of our other element samples, these elemental bullion bars do require a certain base level of care.

We recommend:

• Washing your hands before handling, to minimize oil transfer to the bar

• Not getting the bars wet

• Using anything but a soft cotton cloth to wipe them

• Washing hands after handling

As Luciteria Science begins to roll out more die-cast elemental bullion varieties, we will add element-specific care and handling precautions to ensure maximum safety and preservation of the bullion’s value.

Why Elemental Bullion from Luciteria Science?

Many elements are rare besides gold, platinum, and silver.  Owning a diversified bullion holding makes sense as many of these elements have critical needs in industry, which are expected to only increase over time. Hedging your metal holdings beyond standard bullion is a new concept Luciteria Science is bringing to the market. Also, they make a new and interesting way to learn about, explore and engage with our world and its building blocks, which we at Luciteria Science believe is crucial to a sound understanding of our reality!

Lucitiera Science, working with our different materials firms, wanted to do something completely unique and different in the element world. 

To our knowledge, this marks the first time anyone has ever attempted to make bullion out of all 62 elements you possibly can, similar to our element density cubes. 

We are still engineering many of these cubes and have run into some huge challenges. Like our cubes, we know we will figure these challenges out over time, allowing us to offer the market a completely new way to collect elements. Also, having the bullion die-cast rather than laser-engraved increases the difficulty of manufacturing these bars a few notches but also helps to thwart potential counterfeiters and frankly, we think it just looks better!  

We also noted there was a demand in the market for nonstandard bullion bars (i.e. not gold, silver or platinum) for investment purposes. People want to own these rare and unusual metals for investment. As such, they need and expect them in a uniform, portable format. People who want to invest in these rare and unusual metals do not want to own sponge, in which form certain elements can be very toxic, whereas the bullion bars are 100% safe with proper handling, or laser-engraved ingots which are not much to look at and easier to fake. 

Each of our bullion bars is die-cast and imprinted with raised lettering rather than laser-engraved, leaving no margin for doubt that you own an official Luciteria Science element bullion bar. This process makes our bars look similar to bullion bars from all the big bullion houses for gold and silver. To be clear, the die-casting process does make the production of these bars far more challenging and labor-intensive, but we feel the additional look and feel of our one-of-a-kind products makes the additional expense and work worthwhile.

What’s Next from Luciteria Science?

Currently, we are working on the next wave of bullion bar samples, as well as expanding our existing offerings across our other formats as much as possible. We will be adding gold and other “conventional” precious metal bullion bars to our inventory, as well as more exotic offerings including much rarer and difficult-to-manage metals including iridium, osmium, rhenium, and ruthenium.  These platinum group elements are extremely hard to work with, and Luciteria Science will be the first company to offer these metals as bullion bars. If you can find these metals on the open market at all currently, they are typically either in sponge form or as odd-sized ingots rather than a standard size format.

As Luciteria Science adds bullion types to our lineup, we are also developing a bullion display case for the bars, which we plan to release sometime in 2021. Much like our signature Lucite acrylic display cases for element cubes, rounds and vials, we anticipate the cases will be designed to hold the bullion snugly and securely while making a beautiful, eye-catching display for your home or office. Keep watching for more news and exciting offerings from your friends at Luciteria Science!

All Lucite acrylic element cubes will be discounted 25% for the next two weeks only!

Element Fans, Luciteria Science is having our first-time holiday acrylic element cube sale. All Lucite acrylic element cubes will be discounted 25% for the next two weeks only! A great opportunity to get the premium, beautiful element collectibles you always wanted; a great gift for husbands, wives, bosses, and employees. Inventory is going fast and once they're gone, they're gone. Take advantage of this special today at https://luciteria.com/element-cubes

Use Discount Code 8SL7TVZ At Checkout!

Limit One Per Customer

Discount can be used once per email address.

Always wanted to own bromine, a highly toxic element safely behind a wall of Lucite acrylic? Or cesium which would burst into a beautiful purple flame if exposed to air, but in Lucite acrylic is harmless? How about a pure silver crystal, too fragile to touch, but encased in Lucite acrylic it will stay in its perfect crystalline state forever? A titanium crystal, an extreme rarity, again encased in pure Lucite acrylic never to change year after year. All cubes are made with pure Lucite acrylic, hand-cast, and will never yellow, fade or crack.

Luciteria Science Expands It's Educational Toys For Science

At Luciteria Science, we have strong convictions about the importance, value, and joy of teaching people of all ages about natural science and of course, the elements! We believe knowing and understanding what elements are and why they are important is a key cornerstone in learning and education. Being able to see, touch, and experience the basic building blocks of our physical reality in their purest form is a delight for students, hobbyists, and laypeople alike. For people with a natural bent toward STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), STEM toys and hands-on learning resources can help them develop and explore their interests. 

With this in mind, Luciteria has created special educational bundles that are great for private collectors, educators, students, moms, dads, and science enthusiasts of all ages and interests!

Our educational bundle includes:

• reference-grade, 10mm cubes of five basic child-safe elements

  • Aluminum

  • Carbon

  • Copper

  • Iron

  • Titanium

• One standard desktop acrylic display case

This beautiful educational set looks great and offers a number of great learning options and educational insights for children and adults alike. Some learning activities might include:

• Have them look up why the chemical symbol for copper is Cu. 

• Ask them to research where titanium got its name and what it’s used for. 

• Blow their minds by telling them carbon is the basic form of the “lead” in their pencils. 

• Use magnets and let them experiment on the samples to find out which ones have magnetic properties. 

• For language development, you might explain in the US, we pronounce aluminum “ah-LOO-min-um,” while in the UK it’s pronounced “al-yoo-MIN-ee-um.” 

• Show them the iron cube and have them seek out other things containing iron, like a skillet or an old car body. 

• Challenge their problem-solving skills, pattern recognition, and skills with sight words and visual information by having them place the samples in the correct location on the periodic table. 

The possibilities are only limited by your imagination and the temperaments of the children you’re teaching!

Kids learn best through imaginative play and learning games which make learning fun and interactive. Educational toys for babies and toddlers are designed to give little people a head start on mastering child development benchmarks such as gross motor skills, hand-eye coordination, math skills, and means to develop and practice fine motor skills. Much like baby toys, toddler learning resources revolve heavily around brightly colored objects and different sounds.

Some examples of unisex and learning toys and gift learning toys available include:

• Melissa & Doug Classic Wooden ABDC Building Blocks

• Any Duplo Building Set, great for pretend play

• Peg Puzzles for problem-solving skills

• Any Flash Cards Set featuring animals, letters, numbers, and so on

• Peekaboo Learning Farm playset kits

• Fat Brain toy sets

 As children outgrow education toys for toddlers such as those from Fisher-Price, Ladybug, and other award-winning children’s’ toy companies, activities which help reinforce and further develop fine motor skill and creative problem-solving capabilities such as a baby doll, evolve and expand with electronic toys and interactive learning toys and gifts for kids, including a number of dedicated types of toy for boys and toddler girl toys. The challenge at this stage is to limit screen time without limiting learning!

Some examples of these include award winner kids’ toys such as:

• Play calculator cash register toys

• Play food

• Lego Duplo building set and other building toy kits for older kids

• Coding Critters coding kit for kids

• Thinkfun Gravity Maze

• Marble Run games

• Leapfrog LeapPad tablets for kids

• Augmented reality phone app games and computer programs

• Magnetic whiteboard toys, stick-ons, and pen sets

• Remote control robotics and engineering kits

Luciteria’s educational bundle is safe for school-aged children who are past the toddler stage of putting everything they see in their mouths. 

The elements included are safe, nontoxic and we only offer the highest quality and purity of samples available on the market. Obviously you wouldn’t want to eat them, but they can be safely handled and they’re easy to sanitize, keeping them looking great and minimizing the risk of spreading around infectious diseases such as COVID-19, flu, and other germs.

Our education bundle is wonderful for:

• Classrooms

• Chemistry set building

• Collectors

• Science kits

• Home-schooling

• Hobbyists

• And more!

Our educational bundle kits can be used for child development and enrichment in school-aged kids, as well as to teach concepts such as:

Math: How many blocks do you see? How do you calculate the atomic mass of an element?

Physics: What do the basics of our world look like? How do they fit together? What are their properties? What can we use them for? Why do we need them?

Chemistry: What might happen to these elements when you expose them to water or air? If you combine atoms of this element plus atoms of that one, what do you get? Hold up the carbon, iron, and titanium cubes to demonstrate that these elements together form titanium-steel alloys. Have children evaluate where and how these elements fit into a chemistry set. 

Engineering: You know the properties of these elements. How do you decide which ones, or which alloys of multiple elements, are best suited to a given design or application?

Computer Science: What is copper used for? Why not iron? Couldn’t you use titanium instead? Encourage students to consider how these refined chunks of elements become the powerful information-gathering and communication devices we rely on for so much of our standard of living.

Language: Use the elements as a basis for learning their ABCs. “A is for arsenic.” Ask kids what the names for these elements are in other languages? “Copper” in English is rendered as “cobre” in Spanish, “cuivre” in French, and “Kupfer” in German. As your student’s journey toward achieving bilingual status, the elements can be used as an anchor point for delving into more complex linguistic usages than “Where is the post office?”

At Luceteria, we believe no one’s ever too young or too old to learn something new, and our educational toy bundles offer exciting ways to interact with the most basic parts of our world. How will you use them, and what will your kids and students learn from them? It’s really up to you. Click here to learn more!

Frequently Asked Questions About Educational Toys

Question: What are educational toys?

Answer: Educational toys are any toys that are intended or used to teach about the world around us. Some examples include the LeapPad from Leapfrog, Melissa and Doug Classic ABC block carts, the Peekaboo Learning Farm, and even dolls! In addition, some companies are moving toward augmented reality teaching using phone apps, immersive video games, and so on.

Question: What makes a toy educational?

Answer: A toy becomes educational when it’s both fun and instructive. A toy that teaches fine motor skills or problem-solving is just as educational as a toy that is covered with letters or numbers. 

Robotics and model airplane kits are a good example of this: they’re fun to build, deliver something fun to look at and play with at the end while teaching a number of skills the student may not even realize they’re learning. 

Luciteria’s educational bundle is designed to meet all these criteria and offer a fun, interactive way to learn about the physical sciences and much more!

Question: Why are educational toys important?

Answer: Several longitudinal studies have demonstrated the ongoing importance of interactive toys and immersive learning in preparing children to function, cope, and thrive in an increasingly complex and connected world. Toys that help teach and reinforce concepts such as language comprehension, mathematical principles, and “soft skills” such as sharing, cooperation, and teamwork are becoming more important and necessary than ever before. 

Because of this, educational toys, especially gender-neutral ones which are not specifically geared toward boys or girls, are becoming more popular than ever before!

Question: Why is investing in educational toys important?

Answer: Educational toys are beneficial for many reasons. They can be used multiple times, through multiple children or classes. They help reinforce curricular lessons and information. By investing in educational toys such as Luciteria’s educational bundle, you can purchase them once and share the benefits and lessons they have to teach for years to come.

Question: What are STEAM Toys?

Answer: STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Electronics, and Math. Leave out the A and it becomes “STEM,” which is another popular acronym. STEAM toys are specifically designed to teach and illustrate concepts in the natural and hard sciences, from chemistry to robotics to physics to computers.

Question: Why are STEM toys so popular?

Answer: STEM toys are becoming more popular for many reasons. First, parents and educators alike are looking for ways to divert students from excessive screen time. Second, as society rethinks gender roles, more girls want to be scientists, doctors, engineers, computer programmers, and so on. Equally important, they have greater access to the necessary education for these professions than ever before. The baby doll and toy truck will never go away, and video games are here to stay barring a catastrophic collapse of civilization as we know it. But STEM toys’ popularity is not likely to wane anytime soon because they’re interactive, many don’t require power, batteries, or Internet connections, and, perhaps most important, they’re FUN!

Question: Can you suggest a great educational toy I can give as a gift?

Answer: If you’re looking for an interactive learning toy the whole family will enjoy, you’ve come to the right place. Luciteria’s educational bundle is a great starting point for you and yours to learn and grow together. You can choose from an array of solid element cubes and raw-format samples in our one-of-a-kind Lucite cubes to augment your collection over the years, giving you and your family a special bonding experience you can share for a lifetime—even with the grandkids someday! Not only are they fun to play with and interesting to learn about, but they’re beautiful to look at and each new piece will have its own special place in the story of your family.

Luciteria Science is proud to offer educational bundles and individual element samples in a number of formats. All our products meet the most stringent possible requirements for purity, appearance, and overall quality. Our pure element samples are actual, working, representative samples such as you might find in collegiate laboratories and at facilities like the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland. Best of all, we stand behind every product we sell with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

When you want to give an educational toy that is both fun and informative, our educational bundle is a wonderful starting point upon which you can build a lifetime of your own family’s adventures as you learn and grow together. Great for the teacher, professor, hobbyist, or student, there’s really no wrong reason to give one of these bundles. Luciteria can ship to most countries, so even if you have family or friends across the globe, you can give the gift of a lifetime of learning. To learn more about Luciteria’s educational bundles or purchase your own, click here!

Question: An online retailer decided to sell my info and I’m getting a lot of spam. Will Luciteria sell my personal information?

Answer: Luciteria is deeply committed to keeping your personal information private, as it should be. We never rent or sell customer info, or share it with anyone except as required by law. When you shop with us, you can shop with confidence that your information will be used only as necessary to fill your order and fulfill record-keeping requirements.  

Interested in Element Collecting?

Collecting things has always been the proving ground that separates the mere dabbler from the true enthusiast. First-edition books, baseball cards, comic books, battle card games like Magic: The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh!, rare coins, and memorabilia are just a few of the more common collectible and well-known examples. For the hardcore chemistry connoisseur, nothing could be more exciting to collect than the building blocks of our reality: the elements of the periodic table themselves! 

Until recently, element collecting was a difficult, prohibitively expensive, and time-consuming hobby with mixed results and dubious sample purity. Some of the more exotic elements, such as uranium and cesium, have been very difficult by ordinary people. Others are too unstable and/or dangerous to capture in their elemental form without specialized equipment such as chlorine or thallium.

Many elements are problematic for collectors. Some are radioactive, throwing off alpha particles, beta radiation, and gamma rays which can be harmful to humans as they decay into more stable forms. Some, like mercury and arsenic, are dangerous to touch with bare hands. Some elements react violently to the presence of or contact with water or oxygen. And what of the gas elements? Storing them in purpose-built glass ampules is the only sensible choice.

For many years, collectors got around these limitations by displaying household items related to the elements which they had collected, rather than pure examples of the collected elements themselves.

For example, they might have displayed a spoonful of salt as a stand-in for sodium (and chlorine!) since neither was easily available in elemental form. Pepto-Bismol could be a stand-in for bismuth and Milk of Magnesia for magnesium. Interestingly, the “lead” in pencils has been another age-old popular workaround which, ironically, was a misnomer since they’re carbon…. another element entirely!

Argon, krypton, neon, and xenon could be represented by neon signs incorporating these luminescent noble gases, which fluoresce different colors when an electrical current is passed through them, exciting the atoms. Tantalum capacitors, neodymium magnets, smoke detectors with the tiniest dab of radioactive americium, and phosphorus flashbulbs are some other common examples of items that might be displayed in this sort of collection of elements. 

The downside - and simultaneous dismay - for the purists in the collecting community has been that all of these workarounds have come at the expense of purity. In some cases pure options presented huge challenges while in others they were simply insurmountable.

Luciteria was born to cater to the unmet needs of these collectors and to make element collecting safer, more enjoyable, more eye-catching, and more fun than ever before!

Collecting chemical elements of nearly perfect purity used to be the sole province of military-industrial research, museum, and university physics departments with nearly unlimited resources and specialized laboratory space. Most casual users and avid collectors alike could only collect elements confined to the contents of a commercially available chemistry set. These elements were often compounds, such as manganese dioxide, not pure nickel or pure silicon. This in turn placed the ability to buy more exotic elements such as plutonium and scandium well beyond the reach of the average high school chemistry teacher or parent wanting to teach their children about the wonders of the natural world, as the mineral forms were often hideously expensive, adulterated or both. 

By embedding representative samples of the elements in Lucite acrylic, they can be displayed and handled safely, without risk to the owner or the appearance of the sample. Even better, the cubes display the elements of the periodic table complete with their name, symbol, and atomic number, making them a portable and exciting learning tool.

With both the embedded samples cast in Lucite acrylic and solid cubes of all the metallic elements, collecting elements in ultrapure form does away with the disappointment of incomplete and/or unsafe “witches’ brew” collections. With a minimum of 99% purity, and typically far higher, purists and casual collectors alike can easily enjoy the natural beauty of the building blocks of our universe.

The Lucite cubes can be displayed on their own, for example as a desk ornament or paperweight, or in our specialty display cases. Each sample is attractively displayed in  a form that is often unique and always visually impacting manner. The blocks themselves are virtually indestructible with normal or even extreme handling. It would take a dedicated effort and power tools to break them apart; making them ideal even for element collectors with butterfingers. Even in the case of radioactive elements the samples are typically microscopic and the shielding provided by the outer acrylic shell is sufficient to eliminate any radiation from being detectable from the outside. 

Before Luciteria, the options for private collectors to buy elements were very limited. Obtaining complete sets of the elements which were stable and safe for display while assuring purity was a painstaking, time-consuming affair that often thwarted the efforts of even the most dedicated, and patient of enthusiasts. Luciteria’s elements cubes are sourced directly from laboratories to exacting specifications allowing for a much wider community to acquire samples that are attractive, affordable and safe to own and display!

Who collects elements samples anyway?

Anyone can be an element collector. Pioneering neurosurgeon Dr. Oliver Sacks, portrayed by legendary comedian and actor Robin Williams alongside Robert DeNiro in the movie Awakenings based on Sacks’ eponymous book, was an avid elements enthusiast who would often receive periodic table element samples from friends and colleagues around the world. In fact, he was such an avid proponent of this hobby that he was often known to refer to his age by the element whose atomic number corresponded to it. In an article for the Atlantic, he mentioned receiving a “charming box” from a British friend, inscribed with the sentiment, “Happy Thallium Birthday,” which would have made him 81 at the time. (He passed away at age 82.) 

Justin Urgitis, a former employee of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer who is now the data operations lead at Syneos Health, started his collection in college while pursuing a degree in forensic chemistry as a result of an interest stirred in high school science class. He started his collection with cobalt, iodine, magnesium, and aluminum, and is known to joke, “Want to come upstairs and see my barium?” riffing on the classic pick-up line.

Everyday people from all walks of life can enjoy element collecting. Science buffs, engineers, physicists, chemistry majors, attorneys, writers, and homemakers all seek out pure forms of elements for reasons ranging from pure enjoyment to teaching tools. And who doesn’t like having some precious metals around the house or office to impress visitors? Bismuth crystals, with their distinctive rainbow coloration, make an interesting conversation piece for a desk or seating area, while pure gold, a mineral sample or pure silver coin can create a powerful statement of taste and prestige. Mercury in its liquid metal form is always a crowd-pleaser. 

All of Luciteria’s elements cubes are backed by our 100% satisfaction guarantee, for the best representative element collecting possible. 

Each element’s sample we create is individually assayed to assure the highest possible purity and quality standards. Our virtually indestructible acrylic cubes are guaranteed not to discolor with proper care and handling, and will not yellow or cloud over time. 

Whether you want to purchase a mineral sample of carbon, an eye-catching zirconium metal display or to finally get that elusive niobium metal sample you’ve been searching for, Luciteria has you covered. Check out our comprehensive list of currently available elements at the bottom of this page, or click here to explore our currently available inventory and start an elements collection of your own today! 

Frequently Asked Questions About Element Collecting

Question: If I store collected elements in the periodic table display board you offer, will that affect the centerpiece quality of the board itself? --Stephen, Rapid City, SD

Answer: Not at all! That’s what the board is for. In fact, we think, just like the universe itself, the periodic table looks better when it’s filled with all the elements. Your visitors and students will enjoy it a great deal more, and you’ll love how much more fun and interactive you can make science classes when you can actually allow people to hold the elements you’re talking about in their hands!

Question: Wouldn’t an actual nickel be the best sample of the element nickel?  --Erica, Las Vegas, NV

Answer: US nickels have been alloys of 75% copper and 25% nickel since 1866. From 1942 to 1945, nickels were made of 35% silver. These nickels, recognized by the letters “D”, “P” or “S” over the Monticello dome, are worth more than their face value and are very rare nowadays, as they have been largely taken out of circulation. Much like most iron and steel products, which are not pure iron but a combination of iron and nickel or iron and carbon, these are not pure elemental representations. If you want pure, elemental nickel, Luciteria can provide it in mineral or reference density block form, among others!

Question: Can I safely display reactive gases like fluorine and chlorine? --Matilda, Essex, UK

Answer: With Luciteria’s Lucite element blocks, you absolutely can! All our gas samples are stored in vacuum ampules prior to embedding in the acrylic matrix. This means, unless you make a dedicated effort to break the block using a hacksaw or power tools, the display is perfectly safe and harmless to handle.

Question: Why do people think we should celebrate the periodic table? --Justin, Johannesburg, South Africa

Answer: The periodic table offers a way of organizing the natural elements which make up our universe in a way that allows us to impose order on seeming chaos. Without the elements which comprise the periodic table, everything, from the universe in which our planet resides to the computer you’re reading this on and even you yourself, would be quite impossible! Both aesthetically and from a learning standpoint, that makes the periodic table one of the most important scientific tools ever created, which is why we at Luciteria are very proud of our efforts to make it just a little more fun and interactive for students and enthusiasts of all ages!

Question: You said smoke detectors emit radiation. Why? --Meaghan, Cork, Ireland

Answer: Smoke detectors frequently include the radioactive isotope americium-241, which gives off tiny amounts of radiation and permits the detector to function properly. The amount of americium-241 in a commercial smoke detector gives off about 1/100 of a millirem (a measure of radiation exposure) per year. By comparison, you get about 360 millirems per year simply by going about your daily life because of the normal background radiation in your environment! Pack-and-a-half-a-day smokers have been shown to get as much as 8,000 millirems, or as much radiation exposure as 300 X-rays of the chest, per year because of polonium-210, radium and radioactive lead isotopes which build up in the soil both due to natural origin and fertilizers used to boost crop yield. This makes Luciteria’s element samples useful for health and anatomy classes as well as the so-called “harder” sciences!

Question: How much do Luciteria element samples cost? --Shanice, Seattle, WA

Answer: Each element is different. The prices are based on availability and ease of sourcing. Harder-to-find element samples will cost more than commonly available ones, and the format in which you order them makes a difference as well. Lucite blocks are typically less expensive than functional reference density blocks or refined elemental metal samples because they are less labor-intensive. For the latest prices and to see which elements are currently available, we encourage you to visit our website regularly!

Question: What do I need to get started in element collecting? --Erica, Point Barrow, AK

Answer: All you really need is an interest in the natural world and the willingness to do some research and exploration on your own. As we mentioned above, many collectors don’t stop at just the elements themselves, but also collect and display items which incorporate the elements as well. A good sense of curiosity and natural wonder will take you far in this fun and exciting hobby!

Question: Can I give Luciteria element samples as gifts? --Kelly, El Paso, TX

Answer: Absolutely! Luciteria element samples make wonderful presents for birthdays, Hanukkah, Christmas, graduations, anniversaries, and much more. If you’re looking for something truly unique to give the natural enthusiast in your life, a Luciteria element sample is a great, unique way to give a gift even the hardest person to buy for is sure to appreciate!

Question: What elements does Luciteria offer? --Jonathan, Paso Robles, CA

Answer: Luciteria’s complete inventory of elements in Lucite blocks includes the following. If you’re looking for functioning reference density blocks, the availability and elements may differ somewhat. Here’s our current Lucite element sample display lineup:

• Actinium

• Aluminum

• Americium

• Antimony

• Argon

• Arsenic

• Barium

• Beryllium

• Bismuth crystal

• Boron

• Bromine

• Cadmium

• Calcium

• Carbon

• Cerium

• Cesium

• Chlorine

• Chromium

• Cobalt

• Copper

• Dysprosium

• Erbium

• Europium

• Fluorine

• Francium

• Gadolinium

• Gallium

• Germanium

• Gold

• Hafnium

• Helium

• Holmium

• Hydrogen (h2)

• Hydrogen (h3--tritium)

• Indium

• Iodine

• Iridium

• Iron

• Krypton

• Lanthanum

• Lead

• Lithium

• Lutetium

• Magnesium

• Manganese

• Mercury

• Molybdenum

• Neodynium

• Neon

• Neptunium

• Nickel

• Niobium

• Nitrogen

• Osmium

• Oxygen

• Palladium

• Phosphorus

• Platinum

• Potassium

• Praseodymium

• Protactinium

• Radium

• Radon

• Rhenium

• Rhodium

• Rubidium

• Ruthenium

• Samarium

• Scandium

• Selenium

• Silicon

• Silver

• Sodium

• Strontium

• Sulfur

• Tantalum

• Technetium

• Tellurium

• Terbium

• Thallium

• Thorium

• Thulium

• Tin

• Titanium

• Uranium (depleted)

• Vanadium

• Tungsten

• Xenon

• Ytterbium

• Yttrium

• Zinc

• Zirconium

Please note that at any given time, some elements, particularly rare earth metals, Noble metals and transition metals, may be sold out due to demand. We are pleased to help collectors complete their element collection by advising them when harder-to-source elements are available again.

Rare and Exotic Elements To Collect Including Uranium for Sale at Luciteria Science!

For the academic, scientist, collector, or hobbyist with an interest in the building blocks of the natural world, obtaining pure, representative samples of elements can be a challenge. Since our inception, we started off as an oddball but fun sideline as the Lucite furniture company which then became, Luciteria Science. Today, we serve the discerning collector with Lucite acrylic displays of the elements in their raw forms, functional calibration reference cubes, hand- and machine-polished mirror cubes, and much more!

Have You Added gallium To Your Collection?

Our unique line includes museum-quality, high-purity, certified samples of elements from beryllium to carbon to cobalt to mercury to uranium for sale, giving private collectors and public institutions alike unprecedented access to beautiful, eye-catching displays which both educate and entice! Our Lucite cubes generally contain raw elements. A few have bars or coins in them. These elemental samples are encased in the highest-quality acrylic, which will never tarnish, crack, or turn yellow. Unless you take a saw to these cubes, they can’t be broken so they will last a lifetime. 

Our Tungsten Cubes Are

99.95% Pure!

tungsten Cubes Learn More Click Here

In addition to elements like beryllium and uranium for sale, we are also proud to offer rare earth elements such as scandium, which until recently were reserved solely for industrial purposes. For this reason, making our one of a kind 50mm acrylic element cubes into collectibles for the enthusiast collector posed some technical challenges, both in acquiring all the elements and designing the different cubes. Most of our density cubes were the first cubes made from many of these elements and remain the only option available. In addition, many of the elements have required trial and error to make them work in a cube. For our mirrored cubes especially, the labor involved to make them shiny is a challenge in its own right. If you prefer raw elements, we have every type of element you could hope to find. If Luciteria doesn’t offer the element you’re looking for to complete your collection, it likely can’t be purchased.

Got t

itanium?

Buy Titanium

One question we get asked a lot, especially about our arsenic and uranium samples, is if keeping or handling them is safe, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic. The answer is, all our samples, especially the polished calibration reference cubes, ideally should be handled with latex gloves. There are two reasons for this.

•  The oils in your fingers can cause discoloration and mar the polish of the display. Although discoloration is not a consideration with our virtually indestructible Lucite cubes, fingerprints can still make the sample appear cloudy, so care should be taken either to avoid handling them with bare hands or clean them meticulously after handling.

• Only arsenic is covered with varnish, not the other element cubes. Despite this, certain elements are toxic to humans, such as arsenic and mercury. Using latex gloves during handling and thorough handwashing afterward helps ensure safe handling.

Start Collecting Today!

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Immediately prior to shipment, our samples are wiped down vigorously with alcohol to eliminate any possible risk of COVID contamination. Many of these elements are known or believed to be inimical to microorganisms such as the novel coronavirus, including copper, meaning microbes cannot live on them for any length of time. With proper care and handling, your samples have an indefinite shelf life.

With regard to our uranium samples for sale, the type of uranium is known as depleted uranium. This means while it remains radioactive, the level of radioactivity is very low. You wouldn’t want to eat it or any of our other elements, even assuming you could, but as display pieces with proper handling, the screen on which you’re reading this right now will give you a higher dose of radiation than our samples will!

Our unique line of elemental samples for sale aren’t merely beautiful, they’re also shipped from America. Luciteria is a  US business, we ship from the US, and have US customer support.   We keep US inventory and don’t ship from China directly. This means known quality and purity in every sample, and we stand behind our products 100%. They are formed, crafted, polished, engraved, processed, and shipped from right here in the United States of America. Nationwide and international shipping is available to certain countries. Luciteria complies fully with all US government transportation and shipping regulations. Our responsive, top-quality customer support is here in the US, and we stand ready to make the situation right if there are any issues.

As we look to the future, we are evaluating a retail product line for museum stores and even a science experiment kit, among other projects and ventures. Luciteria Science is working on new, innovative products including new ways to label the cubes, new Lucite cubes and mirrored cubes, and a completely new secret project we will be unveiling soon. We are always looking for new partnerships with different platforms and improved ways to get our uniquely beautiful samples of elements like uranium for sale out to the masses. Owning a small piece of the Universe we live in should be something all can strive to do, and at Luciteria we’re proud to make it possible in many different ways.