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At the Nanoscale exhibit

An exhibit that was part of the Nanotechnology: What's the Big Deal? exhibition that aims to show just how super small one billionth of a meter, or one nanometer, really is.

DESCRIPTION

At the Nanoscale is a static component that aims to show just how super small one billionth of a meter, or one nanometer, really is. A Billion Beads is an activity where visitors inspect tubes that hold quantities of one thousand tiny beads, one million beads, and one billion beads. To the naked eye, the tube containing one thousand beads appears nearly empty. Visitors see that the next tube, partially filled, contains one million beads. Finally, to compare, a four-foot tall container nearly full contains approximately one billion beads. This component is mounted to the backside of the Intro to Nanotechnology video kiosk.

This exhibit was part of the Nanotechnology: What's the Big Deal? exhibition which toured the Arkansas Discovery Network beginning in 2010.

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  • Profile image of an interactive exhibit of the At the Nanoscale exhibit
  • Profile image of an interactive exhibit of the At the Nanoscale exhibit highlighting a giant 5 foot tube filled with millions of beads
  • At the Nanoscale exhibit profile image from the front
  • Profile image of an interactive exhibit of the At the Nanoscale exhibit
  • Profile image of an interactive exhibit of the At the Nanoscale exhibit highlighting a giant 5 foot tube filled with millions of beads
  • At the Nanoscale exhibit profile image from the front

DESCRIPTION

At the Nanoscale is a static component that aims to show just how super small one billionth of a meter, or one nanometer, really is. A Billion Beads is an activity where visitors inspect tubes that hold quantities of one thousand tiny beads, one million beads, and one billion beads. To the naked eye, the tube containing one thousand beads appears nearly empty. Visitors see that the next tube, partially filled, contains one million beads. Finally, to compare, a four-foot tall container nearly full contains approximately one billion beads. This component is mounted to the backside of the Intro to Nanotechnology video kiosk.

This exhibit was part of the Nanotechnology: What's the Big Deal? exhibition which toured the Arkansas Discovery Network beginning in 2010.

JUMP TO BROWSE RELATED RESOURCES

OBJECTIVES

BIG IDEA

Things at the nanoscale are super small.

NANO CONTENT MAP

Nanometer-sized things are very small, and often behave differently than larger things do.

Credits

YEAR CREATED
2008
OWNING INSTITUTION

OMSI

FUNDING

Developed for the NISE Network with funding from the National Science Foundation under Award Numbers 0532536 and 0940143. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this product are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.

PERMISSIONS

Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike 3.0 United States (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US).
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DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

NISE Network products are developed through an iterative collaborative process that includes scientific review, peer review, and visitor evaluation in accordance with an inclusive audiences approach. Products are designed to be easily edited and adapted for different audiences under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike license. To learn more, visit our Development Process page.