Old stars in the Milky Way Galaxy record the history of creation in our part of the Universe stretching back almost to the beginning of time.  Giant new telescopes using space-age technology have given us a glimpse of the first stars, and from the compositions of stars that formed more than 10 billion years ago, we can trace the origin of the first elements fused from primordial hydrogen and helium, and identify sites of nucleosynthesis.  Our own Solar System is made from the debris of both ancient and modern supernovae.  The elements of the periodic table allow us to explore our own origins in the Milky Way.