Search: Materials, tools, and applications

The DIY Nano app (for iPhones) and DIY Nano HD (for iPads) allows families to experience and learn about nanoscale science, engineering, and technology at home or on the go! The apps provide free, easy to use, hands-on activities at your fingertips. Each activity includes material lists, step-by-step instructions, and detailed explanations. The activity materials are widely available and inexpensive, and you probably have many of them in your own home. Our app includes links to family friendly videos and helps you browse the whatisnano.org public website for more information, activities, and videos. ......................... DIY Nano (for iPhones) is currently compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPod touch (3rd to 5th generation. DIY Nano HD (for iPads) is compatible with all iPad models. Requires iOS 5.0 or later.

"Exploring Products - Nano Fabric" is a hands-on activity exploring how the application of nano-sized whiskers can protect clothing from stains. Visitors investigate the hydrophobic properties of pants made from nano fabric and ordinary fabric.

We've put together resources to help you promote your NanoDays event and other nano educational activities. A collection of NISE Net press photos can also be found in the Tools & Guides section of the catalog. For questions regarding usage of the NanoDays logo or other marketing materials, please send an email to nanodays@nisenet.org.

This forum plays on very real concerns and fears of students: academic performance and taking standardized tests. The crux of this forum is: if there was a supplement or embedded nanotechnology available to the public that will enhance your cognitive abilities by making you smarter or give you instantaneous access to the internet, how would you or local community handle it? Is it cheating? By taking on roles that are somewhat familiar to them, they can put themselves into the shoes of decision makers whether they are parents, teachers, or principals.

Spiderman isn't the only person who can walk on walls and make webs stronger than steel. Scientists are making this possible in the lab. In this Science Xplained, Dr. Ainissa Ramirez describes the science behind making webs and walking on walls. By studying spiders, engineers can create materials that are bulletproof and can build robots that can climb the side of a building.

This hour long classroom program introduces nano science and nanotechnology as a leading, cutting edge science with an emphasis on nano in nature, health, energy and the environment. The class includes a PowerPoint presentation, three minute video, nine self-guided activities set up as “stations” around the classroom along with a concluding, teacher facilitated class discussion. This program was created for the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry’s (OMSI) Outreach Unit. It has been designed for 4th – 8th graders and travels to elementary and middle schools in seven states around the Pacific Northwest.

"Exploring Materials - Memory Metal" is a hands on activity in which visitors compare the properties of a memory metal spring to an ordinary spring. They learn that the way a material behaves on the macroscale is affected by its structure on the nanoscale.

"Nanotechnology Spin-a-Prize!" introduces visitors to the basics of nanoscale science, engineering, and technology (“nano”) through a game show format. Visitors learn that nanometer-sized things are small and often behave differently than larger things do, and that work in this emerging field leads to new knowledge and innovations. Visitors also consider the ways that nanotechnology will affect our lives.

"Exploring Tools - Mystery Shapes" is a hands-on activity in which visitors use their sense of touch to investigate hidden objects. They learn that researchers use special tools, including scanning probe microscopes, to detect and make images of nanoscale objects.

"Exploring Properties - UV Bracelets" is a hands-on activity in which visitors use ultraviolet light to change the color of beads that contain photochromic dye. They learn that the UV beads change color as a result of nanoscale shifts in the shape of the dye molecules.