Skip to main content

Multimedia Zoom Into a Nasturtium Leaf

This downloadable and online interactive allows learners to travel from the familiar scale of nasturtium leaf to DNA deep within the plant's cell.

DESCRIPTION

In this interactive piece, visitors can zoom into the structures on the surface of a nasturtium leaf. Electron micrographs reveal the nanoscale structures that make water bead on the surface of the leaf. Zoom Into a Nasturtium Leaf can be used alone, or to accompany an exhibit or demonstration of the lotus effect, in which water beads and rolls off highly water-repellent leaves. You must follow the instructions included with the files to install the Adobe Air application! Please "Download All Files" in the zip file and read the instructions first. The resource tab links are also a necessary part of the process in order to run the application directly on your computer. Adobe Air Instructions: 1) Download All files (zip) to run directly on your computer. Then install Adobe Air free (See Link below) 2) Adjust Settings Manager HERE. On the "Edit Locations" dropdown select "Add Location" and then "Browse for folder" and find the air file on your hard drive. 3) Close page and open the Air file on your computer to run

JUMP TO BROWSE RELATED RESOURCES
  • A screenshot of the zoom into a nasturtium leaf interactive starting with a nasturtium leaf.
  • A screenshot of the zoom into a nasturtium leaf interactive starting with a nasturtium leaf.

DESCRIPTION

In this interactive piece, visitors can zoom into the structures on the surface of a nasturtium leaf. Electron micrographs reveal the nanoscale structures that make water bead on the surface of the leaf. Zoom Into a Nasturtium Leaf can be used alone, or to accompany an exhibit or demonstration of the lotus effect, in which water beads and rolls off highly water-repellent leaves. You must follow the instructions included with the files to install the Adobe Air application! Please "Download All Files" in the zip file and read the instructions first. The resource tab links are also a necessary part of the process in order to run the application directly on your computer. Adobe Air Instructions: 1) Download All files (zip) to run directly on your computer. Then install Adobe Air free (See Link below) 2) Adjust Settings Manager HERE. On the "Edit Locations" dropdown select "Add Location" and then "Browse for folder" and find the air file on your hard drive. 3) Close page and open the Air file on your computer to run

JUMP TO BROWSE RELATED RESOURCES

OBJECTIVES

LEARNING GOALS

  • Things are made of smaller and smaller parts Behavior we see may be caused by structures at very small scales

NANO CONTENT MAP

Scientists and engineers have formed the interdisciplinary field of nanotechnology by investigating properties and manipulating matter at the nanoscale.

Credits

YEAR CREATED
2009
OWNING INSTITUTION

Exploratorium

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).
View more details

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.