Making a mountain out of a mole hill

By Rhonda Simmons

Published: October 26, 2008

It’s not those pesky varmints that dig up your garden or that beauty mark that mysteriously disappeared from Enrique Iglesias’ cheek.

However the mole — a basic measuring unit in chemistry — equals the atomic mass of a single molecule.

And every year chemistry teachers and their students celebrate National Mole Day on Oct. 23 from 6.02 a.m. to 6.02 p.m., correlating it with Amedeo Avogadro’s number — 6.02x10²³ that identifies the amount of particles (atoms or molecules) in a mole.

Nearly 20 students in Craig Dennis’ chemistry class at Eastern View High School presented their mole-inspired projects on Thursday during third block.

“It never ceases to amaze me how much effort the kids put into the project and how creative they can be,” Dennis said. “I am constantly searching for things — assignments, projects and activities — that will let the kids show their creativity.”

And like always, they didn’t disappoint.

Some of the pop culture references included: “Mole-cal Phelps,” complete with his USA swim trunks and matching cap and a large gold medal around his neck; “Mole-hammad Ali,” wearing his signature red boxing gloves and championship belt around his waist; “Hannah Mole-tanna,” donning her trademark long blondish locks; and “Hulk Mole-gan” sporting abs, blond mustache and a bandanna.

The mole projects have become quite a legacy in Culpeper, said Dennis, who has taught locally for five years.

“At the beginning of each semester someone invariably will ask ‘Do we get to do the mole project?” he recalled.

Several bursts of giggles echoed from room 315 and drifted down the hallways as students shared their unique mole projects.

EVHS junior Amanda Jenkins, 16, even did a little song and dance routine when presenting her “Mole-ja Boy” project, a hip hop artist complete with aluminum foil teeth to represent his “grillz” and an oversized necklace around his neck.

“Mole-ja boy up in this hole, watch me dig and watch me roll,” she sang, while holding her creative stuffed animal.

EVHS junior Hilary McKenzie, 16, reluctantly sang “Hannah Mole-tanna’s” “Best of Mole Worlds” to her classmates.

“Dig a whole world around and you rock out the hole,” she sang giggling.

It’s difficult to determine who has the most fun during the annual Mole Day presentations: the students or Mr. Dennis.

“I am lucky, I enjoy teaching high school, I get to blow things, up, I get to collect fuzzy, little animals (and) I get to watch juniors transition to seniors and start to think about college,” Dennis said. “All the kids want is to enjoy learning.”

Rhonda Simmons can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 125 or .