Tom Lehrer's Elements, Helen Arney

Recorded at Ada Lovelace Day Live at the Royal Institution on 10 October 2023

Helen Arney performs Tom Lehrer’s Elements, which he set to a tune by Arthur Sullivan. This version includes all of the 16 elements discovered (or, more accurately, synthesised in a laboratory) since the song was first written in 1959.

About Helen Arney

Writer, science presenter, geek songstress and ‘Voice of an Angle’ Helen Arney has appeared on TV, radio and in theatres across the world with her unique mix of stand-up, songs and science. You might have seen her explaining physics while riding a rollercoaster for BBC2 Coast, electrifying Sandi Toksvig on QI, singing the periodic table on Channel 4, smashing a wine glass with the power of her voice live on Blue Peter, hosting Outrageous Acts Of Science on Discovery Channel, or touring with science comedy phenomenon Festival of the Spoken Nerd. 

Helen is currently working on several full-length musical theatre projects about astounding women in STEMM, and has filled several notebooks with rhymes for Uranus (none of which are printable here).

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About Ada Lovelace Day

Ada Lovelace Day is an international celebration of the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and maths which aims to increase the profile of women in STEM and create new role models for both girls and women studying or working in STEM.

Ada Lovelace Day Live 2023 was held at the Royal Institution on Tuesday 10 October. It was hosted by comedian Helen Arney, and featured Prof Jennifer Rohn, head of the Centre for Urological Biology UCL; Dr Azza Eltraify, senior software engineer at Ultracell Networks Ltd; Dr Sophie Carr, mathematician, Bays Consulting Ltd; Dr Aarathi Prasad, writer, broadcaster, and geneticist; Dr Anjana Khatwa, Earth scientist and presenter; Dr Antonia Pontiki, biomedical engineer at King’s College London; and Rosie Curran Crawley, presenter at L’Oreal Young Scientist Centre.

About the Royal Institution

The Royal Institution brings the public and scientists together to share their interest and passion for science, empowering people to explore and get involved.

An independent registered charity, the Ri provides science education, public engagement, and heritage activities for people of all ages and backgrounds across the UK and around the world. These activities include the world-famous Christmas Lectures; public talks from the world's greatest thinkers in its historic lecture theatre and livestreamed online; a successful YouTube channel with over 1.3 million subscribers, a national programme of Ri Masterclasses for young people in mathematics, engineering and computer science; hands-on science workshops in its L'Oréal Young Scientist Centre; award winning animations and films; and the preservation of its scientific legacy through the Faraday Museum and archival collections.

The Ri is a home for science and everyone is welcome. Follow the Ri on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.