nanodays

A guide and the welcome letter (with materials list) included with the NanoDays physical kit to assist in planning your NanoDays events.

The NISE Network, in collaboration with the Center for Nanotechnology in Society at Arizona State University, developed a series of posters and related reference sheets to engage adults and older youth in informal educational experiences related to the societal and ethical implications of nanoscale science, engineering, and technology. The posters are intended to initiate conversations exploring the relationship between nanotechnology and society. They can be presented as a stand-alone exhibit, or paired with suggested activities as an educator-facilitated experience.

"Exploring Tools - Mitten Challenge" is a hands on activity in which visitors build a Lego® structure while wearing mittens. They learn that it is difficult to build small things when your tools are too big.

"Exploring Size - Powers of Ten" is a card game exploring the relative sizes of various objects. Visitors compete to organize their hand of cards into lists of objects from largest to smallest.

"Exploring Size - Memory Game" is a card game exploring the different size scales - macro, micro and nano - objects within these different scales and the way these objects are measured. Visitors compete to find matching pairs of cards.

"Exploring Products - Sunblock" is a hands-on activity comparing sunblock containing nanoparticles to ointment. Visitors learn how some sunblocks that rub in clear contain nanoparticles that block harmful rays from the sun.

"Exploring Products - Nano Sand" is a hands-on activity exploring how water behaves differently when it comes in contact with nano sand and regular sand. Visitors learn about the hydrophobic properties of nano sand.

"Exploring Materials - Thin Films" is a hands-on activity in which visitors create a colorful bookmark using a super thin layer of nail polish on water. They learn that a thin film creates iridescent, rainbow colors.

"Exploring Forces - Static Electricity" is a hands-on activity in which visitors discover that electrostatic forces cause smaller balls to be suspended in a tube while larger ones fall to the bottom. They learn that size can affect the way a material behaves.

This poster aligns zooms into three familiar objects - a human heart, a butterfly's wing, and a laptop computer. Using the conventions of visual perspective the image travels in one continuous “landscape” from the human scale at the top to the atomic scale in the foreground. As the scale gets smaller and smaller, these disparate objects resolve to individual atoms, highlighting the concept that everything is made of atoms.