NanoDays Report: Program - NISE Kit, Children's Museum of Houston
About the NanoDays event(s)
Description:The Children's Museum of Houston hosted NanoDays "The Science of the Super Small WonderWeek from March 25 - April 2. Throughout the week, visitors participated in hands-on explorations at our Science Station, Junktion tables, and Inventor's Workshop. During the weekend, Rice University graduate student and faculty volunteers facilitated more hands-on learning, presented hourly demonstrations, conducted Ask-a-Scientist presentations, and helped our visitors construct a giant balloon carbon nanotube.
Type of Events:Program - NISE Kit
What worked well with NanoDays:We worked with graduate students and faculty from Rice University to recruit "guest scientists" to volunteer during NanoDays. Since these were new activities and a relatively new concept for most staff, we organized trainings a few days prior to the event. We also met with our Rice University volunteers to train them on how to facilitate the activities as well as to acquaint them with how visitors learn in an informal setting. Our visitors really enjoyed the Exploring Solutions and Exploring Ferrofluid activities.
What wasn't as successful:We didn't use a few of the kits, because we felt that they wouldn't work well in our environment with our young visitors. We had to modify the Exploring Liquid Crystal activity, because the materials were poisonous.
What would be done differently next year:We would conduct more trainings with our floor staff. Next time, I would also distribute handouts or cards pointing visitors towards more resources related to nanotechnology/nanoscience.
Changes made to what NISE provided for NanoDays to better fit the institution:We adapted the instruction guides to fit our activity templates and incorporated helpful hints for our facilitators. We also modified the materials. For instance, instead the poisonous liquid crystal substance, visitors experimented with hot (hair dryer) and cold (ice cubes) materials on different liquid crystal products (sheets, mood rings, thermometers).
What the NISE network could have done to make NanoDays more of a success:I thought the NanoDays Manual was very helpful. I think our visitors would have liked a bookmark or handout of resources where they could find more information about nano.
Photos
Basic facts about the NanoDays event(s)
Dates
- NanoDays - March 29, 2008
- NanoDays - March 30, 2008
- NanoDays - March 31, 2008
- NanoDays - April 1, 2008
- NanoDays - April 2, 2008
Location: Houston, TX
Contact person: Lang
Title: Exhibit Developer/Project Manager
Department: Education
Professional Category: exhibits/programs
Organization: Children's Museum of Houston
Type of organization: Museum
Event organizers and participants:
Keith Ostfeld, Director of Exhibit Development
Karen Milnar, Director of Gallery Programs
Christine Broadston, Visitor Programs Educator
Carolyn Nichol, Rice University, CBEN Associate Director for Education
Doug Natelson, Rice University, Associate Professor
Denise LeCrone, Rice University
Doug Natelson, Rice University, Associate Professor
Graduate Students from Rice University
Marketing:
Information was provided in our newsletter (the Mar/Apr edition) and on our website. We also issued a press release.
Audience
Type of public served
- General Public
- School Groups
| Type of audience | Numbers of participants (approximate) |
|---|---|
| Total number of participants | We served 11,028 visitors during NanoDays (March 25 - April 2). |
| Adults | No information available |
| Children | No information available |
| Persons with disabilities | No information available |
Additional information about audience: No information available
General comments about audience: We serve parents, families, and school groups with children ages birth to 12.