It’s been a long time since I last spent my free time colouring. At most, I’d do a colouring page with my children. But being rather devoid of artistic talent and never having succumbed to the ‘mindfulness trend’, it never occurred to me to buy a colouring book for myself.

Until I came across the Chemistry Coloring Book – Nobels in Chemistry 1901 – 2025. I am, in fact, quite a fan of chemistry-themed gadgets. Think of mugs featuring the caffeine molecule, fridge magnets of chemical elements, and T-shirts with slogans such as ‘think like a proton – always be positive’. And a chemistry colouring book fits right into that collection. Chemistry colouring books did exist, but you’d soon find yourself colouring in Erlenmeyer flasks, laboratories and mad professors. What’s more, those books are usually aimed exclusively at children. When it comes to colouring, adults have to make do with highly detailed floral prints.

Stylised molecules

This colouring book, by the multi-talented scientist Vittorio Saggiomo, affiliated with Wageningen UR, is truly different. Firstly, it is suitable for both children and adults. The hand-drawn illustrations are detailed, but do not require the angelic patience demanded by standard adult colouring books. The colouring pages feature, among other things, stylised molecular models, abstract figures and the occasional laboratory element to illustrate the research for which the Nobel Prizes in Chemistry have been awarded. Starting with the year 1901, when Van ’t Hoff received the prize for his work on chemical dynamics and osmotic pressure in solutions. And ending with the MOFs for which Kitagawa, Robson and Yaghi received recognition from Sweden late last year. 

Diels and Alder

Of course, you can find all the winners and their research on the Nobel Prize Committee’s website, but isn’t it much more fun to colour this book in and keep it as a reference for these kinds of facts? After all, who can still remember the year Diels and Alder won their Nobel Prize? Or who was honoured in 2000 for the discovery and development of conductive polymers? And what does that research actually look like? This book can therefore also serve as an educational tool in chemistry or science lessons.

Don’t worry, there are no rules for the colouring. According to the illustrator, there is no right or wrong way to colour in. So if you want to stick as closely as possible to reality, you can, of course. But you can also simply turn them into wonderfully psychedelic pictures; certain studies lend themselves particularly well to this.