Introducing chemistry for young scientists 9 and up, Sean Connolly presents 20 chapters that each focus on a single element, from hydrogen, helium, and boron to copper, zinc, and tin. He describes the element's properties, how it was discovered, and how it is used, followed up by one or two practical experiments. Use a pinhead and 166 feet of string for a mind-boggling sense of how a hydrogen atom is built; make your own fossil with silicon; and harness the power of zinc with a potato clock. Connolly also profiles a "Dirty Dozen" of nasty elements, from arsenic to plutonium, that always wreak havoc whenever they appear.