Search: Fundamentals, Cart demonstration

“Magic Sand” is a cart demo that demonstrates how changing nanoscale changes in a material can affect how that material behaves at the macroscale. Visitors learn that hydrophobic surfaces repel water and that “magic” sand repels water because of a nanoscale hydrophobic coating on the grains of sand. During the program, compare how magic sand and regular sand interact with water.

Through hands-on activities, visitors learn how inkjet printers produce tiny, precise drops of ink. They examine printed paper with magnifying glasses, see a few demonstrations of how liquids behave differently at the small scale, and see an explosive demonstration of how ink is forced out of an ink cartridge.

"Exploring Nano & Society - Invisibility Cloak" is a hands-on activity in which visitors learn about refraction and how it can be used to make a glass stir rod "disappear" in a cup of baby oil. They also learn how nano researchers are trying to make invisibility cloaks by manipulating the refraction of light. Conversation around this possible new technology leads visitors to explore how technologies and society influence each other.

This is a cart demo about how nanoparticles behave differently, in part because they have a high surface area:volume ratio. Visitors learn that smaller particles have a much higher proportion of their atoms on the surface. Visitors unfold paper cubes, drop alka-seltzer in water, turn potatoes black with iodine, and see fireballs to understand how surface area changes as you get small.

This is a card game which can be played with museum visitors. Visitors will learn the relative sizes of various objects. They compete against each other (or you) to organize their hand of cards into lists of objects from largest to smallest.

"Lotus Leaf Effect” is a cart demo that demonstrates how nature inspires nanotechnology by sharing how nanoscale features on a surface can influence how a material behaves at the macroscale. Visitors learn that lotus leaves (and many other plant leaves) are self cleaning and repel water, due to nanoscale features on the leaves. During the program, visitors compare how water interacts with regular lettuce and leaves that exhibit the lotus effect by dropping water onto the different types of leaves.

“Forms of Carbon” is a cart demo that demonstrates how the nanoscale arrangement of atoms dramatically impacts a material’s macroscale behavior. Visitors learn about the structure and properties of four different forms of carbon. During the program, visitors interact with models of four different forms of carbon. Visitors also observe the conductivity of graphite (using a simple circuit and an everyday pencil) and the hardness of diamond (using a diamond scribe to cut glass).

This program demonstrates the importance of scale (macro vs. micro vs. nano) and surface features in materials science and nanotechnology. Visitors will examine three different slides macroscopically (with their eyes) and microscopically (with a microscope). Each of the three slides has different size particles on its surface: macro, micro, and nano. The visitors predict how a drop of water will behave on each surface and then test their prediction.

“DNA Nanotechnology” is a facilitated, hands-on activity exploring deoxyribonucleic acid, a nanoscale structure that occurs in nature. Visitors extract a sample of DNA from split peas and put it in an Eppendorf tube to take home. They learn that nanoscientists study DNA to understand its biological function, and that they also use it to make other nanoscale materials and devices.

In this activity, visitors watch as a crystal self-assembles instantly! During this activity visitors learn what crystals are and how they grow. They also discover that self-assembly is an important process for many naturally occurring systems.