Starting with delightful snacks and the chemical party dance, our celebration of the 150th anniversary of Dmitry Mendeleev‘s publication of the periodic table proceeded with four informative (and equally entertaining) presentations by NOVA faculty. Mihaela Chamberlin gave an overview of the periodic table and reviewed the current hypothesis of the origin of chemical substances. Ritu Kansal presented a court case against the defendant, lead (Pb), portrayed by Piraba Swaminathan, who effectively defended Pb’s good name by showing that, despite its toxicity, lead is an essential element in many medical and industrial applications. In true Valentine’s Day spirit, Bath Schomber discussed the elements that can kills you (and were staple ingredients of poisons throughout centuries). Moving to modern cutting-edge science, Katie Geiser-Bush shared contemporary research on the most recently discovered elements.