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"Liquid Crystals" is a group of hands-on activities and experiments developed at UW-MRSEC that explore how liquid crystals change color as their temperature changes. There are instructions for preparing liquid crystal mixtures, a thermometer and a pixel. There is also background information about how liquid crystals work. Teacher's guides, transparencies and student worksheets are included for the activities.

This is a framework for a summer camp for campers aged 8 - 10 years. Campers learn about nanoscale science and engineering through hands-on activities. The framework can be delivered in 5 half-day (1.5 – 2 hour) sessions. Alternately, the sessions do not have to be delivered consecutively. The first session (Intro to Science and Technology on the Nanoscale) can be used on its own or paired with any of the other four sessions.

Using LEGO® models to show various physical and chemical principles related to nanoscale science and technology

Dye Sensitized (Raspberry Juice)Solar Cells is a hands-on activity adapted for classroom by UW MRSEC. This solar cell was invented by Michael Grätzel and Brian O'Regan at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in 1991. They are also known as Grätzel cells. In this activity students build a dye-sensitized solar cell using nanocrystalline titanium dioxide and raspberry juice. They then test the response of these solar cells to light (overhead projector or sun light). They also explore the effects of different 'dyes' on the performance of the solar cell.

This activity is designed for high school students. In this experiment students use UV light to transfer a pattern (either a network of very small metal wires or self-drawn patterns) onto a surface-- a plastic board. The pattern is transferred by placing a mask (transparency sheet with the pattern) on a plastic board. The board is coated with a copper film that is covered with a light-reactive polymer (photo-resist). The polymer is exposed to UV light through the mask to make a pattern in the polymer. The metal under the exposed polymer is then chemically etched, leaving only the pattern on the surface of the board as determined by the mask. This top-down approach to nanotechnology is commonly used in manufacturing circuit boards for computers and other electronics.

The NACK center at Penn State University has set up a remote access to the Instrumentation available in their labs for educators to use in class. This is available free of cost to educators. Traditionally, an engineer from Penn State University orchestrates the instrument's use, while offering additional assistance via audio and visual internet software. However if you are familiar with the equipment (AFM, SEM , UV-Vis) you can control it from your location using your computer, internet connection and Skype.