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Nano Bite: March 2011

 
Welcome to the March Nano Bite, the monthly e-newsletter for the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE Net).
What's new? NanoDays is just around the corner!
 Spanish Translations for NanoDays!
The Spanish language translations of the 2011 NanoDays activities are now available. All of the NISE Net's Spanish translations can be found atwww.nisenet.org/catalog/spanish.
→ New Video to Promote your NanoDays Event:
Our brand new 30 second NanoDays promotional video invites learners of all ages to "come see what's so big about the super small!"
For more help promoting your event, you can also check out additional promotional materials including logos, ads and posters (http://www.nisenet.org/catalog/nanodays-promotional-material-package), and a set of publicity photos
 
→ Other NanoDays Resources
Don't forget to take a look at your NanoDays planning guide!
Download the digital kit here, or check out a list of all the NanoDays products.
Find out who else in your area is planning NanoDays events: /nanodays-2011-participants
.
Order T-shirts and other gear for your wonderful NanoDays volunteers from The NISE Net NanoShop on CafePress.
 
What Else?
→ Nano and Society FAQs
The NanoDays 2011 kit includes a series of posters and informational handouts introducing the societal and ethical implications of nanotechnology, developed in collaboration with the Center for Nanotechnology in Society at Arizona State University. CNS-ASU has also created a webpage with more information about these issues, developed in response to questions from NISE Net educators and public audiences. Visit the page to learn more, and to submit your own questions.
 
→ NISE Net at the National Science Teachers Association
Frank Kusiak of the Lawrence Hall of Science and Linda Shore of the Exploratorium and others will represent the NISE Net at a symposium at theNational Science Teachers Association (NSTA) national conference. Their "Symposium on Nanotechnology" will be on Saturday, March 12 from 9:30 AM-12:00 PM at Hilton San Francisco Union Square, Continental 2. For those who do teacher professional development, there are a number of additional nanotechnology sessions planned for the conference.
→ Association of Children's Museums (ACM) Pre-Conference Workshop
Don't forget that on May 18th, the Children's Museum of Houston will host the NISE Net pre-conference workshop "Implementing Nano in Children's Museums" as part of ACM Interactivity 2011.

For more details go to: /events
If you have any questions, please contact Aaron Guerrero at [email protected] or 713-535-7226.
 Partner Highlight: Arkansas Discovery Network
Educators from the Arkansas Discovery Network of museums gathered at the Museum of Discovery in Little Rock for a workshop focused on nano education. Read about the workshop and find a link to photos and videos on the NISE Net Blog.
 
 Nano in the News
Butterfly Wings behind Anti-counterfeiting Nanotechnology: The Nanotech Security Corporation, in conjunction with Simon Fraser University, Canada, is collaborating on unique anti-counterfeiting security features that use nanotechnology. Researchers have discovered a way to reproduce the nanostructures that interact with light to produce the shimmering iridescence in Blue Morpho butterfly wings. For more on butterfly wings and nanotechnology, the NISE Net Catalog has several related items:
- The Changing Colors exhibit shows how colors change on butterfly wings and thin-film slides as they move under a light source; you can see sample signage here.
- The Zoom Into a Butterfly Wing illustration shows a butterfly's wing across ten orders of magnitude.
Top 10 Materials that Emulate Nature: This Discovery News article features 10 materials that emulate nature (Biomimicry). Unsurprisingly, many of them have to do with the Nanoscale!
     
Nano Haiku
Ali Stein of the Sciencenter submitted this haiku about the brand new NanoDays Promotional Video:
A commercial, whew!
Spring arrives, and NanoDays.
Nano fun for all.
 
Questions? Haikus? Contributions to the newsletter? Contact Eli Bossin at [email protected]