Nano is an interactive exhibition that engages family audiences in nanoscale science, engineering, and technology. Hands-on exhibits present the basics of nanoscience and engineering, introduce some real world applications, and explore the societal and ethical implications of this new technology....
"Exploring Forces - Static Electricity" is a hands-on activity in which visitors discover that electrostatic forces cause smaller balls to be suspended in a tube while larger ones fall to the bottom. They learn that size can affect the way...
"Exploring Materials - Stained-Glass Windows" is a hands-on activity in which visitors use contact paper and colored tissue paper to create a "stained-glass" window. They learn that real stained-glass windows use nanoparticles to create some of the colors in the...
"Engaging the Public in Nano" provides an overview of key concepts in nanoscale science, engineering, and technology, as identified by the NISE Network. This document is intended as a resource for educators and others who engage the public in informal...
"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...
"Cleaning Our Water with Nanotechnology" is a public presentation about our drinking water and how we can make contaminated water safe to drink using a variety of technologies – including 3 new nanotechnologies for water purification. During the presentation, audiences...
As part of the creation of the "Privacy. Civil Liberties. Nanotechnology." forum, the program was formatively evaluated three times between September 2008 and September 2009. This report is a summary of those findings.
This illustration shows a butterfly's wing across ten orders of magnitude, from the butterfly to the atoms of which it is made. Using the conventions of visual perspective the image travels in one continuous "landscape" from the human scale at...
Oleophobic Surfaces - Anti-Graffiti Demo is a hands on cart demonstration for spontaneous, 3-10 minute interactions with visitors. The visitors will explore several surfaces that display oleophobic properties due to material science research at the nano scale. Coatings can preserve,...
NISE Net partners have adapted NanoDays activities to extend and increase engagement and understanding of nano in their local communities. In this online brown-bag conversation, presenters explored ways to identify the need and what steps their museums have taken to...
In this interactive piece, visitors can zoom into the structures on the surface of a nasturtium leaf. Electron micrographs reveal the nanoscale structures that make water bead on the surface of the leaf. Zoom Into a Nasturtium Leaf can be...
This report documents two formative evaluations on an interactive media piece that allows its users to zoom in from a human hand to an atom. This zoom uses a spiral to connote zooming and is a departure from a more...
"Exploring Size - Powers of Ten" is a card game exploring the relative sizes of various objects. Visitors compete to organize their hand of cards into lists of objects from largest to smallest. "Explore Science - Zoom into Nano Powers...
After completing the Biomimicry: Synthetic Gecko Tape activity, surveys were distributed to fourteen visitors. The survey was designed to elicit information regarding the degree of visitor interest, enjoyment, and ease in understanding the activity. Responding visitors for this activity actually...
Big Fish, Little Fish is a cart demo that can also be used as a classroom activity that focuses on what biomagnification is and how it happens in our ecosystems. Visitors will see a short visual demonstration followed by an...
Scanning electron microscope image of a human hair (black and white). • SIZE: Scale bar representes 50 µm • IMAGING TOOL: Table-top Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)
This is a recording of a NISE Network online brown-bag conversation held in 2013. This is a conversation about incorporating nano into your programming for school groups. It covers best practices and provides tips for designing single short interaction modules...
Here is a selection of NISE Net press photos! Please use these images for marketing NISE Net related events, and in creating NISE Net related materials. These photos are free for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License....
The goals of the Nano exhibition are to provide an opportunity for visitors to learn about key concepts related to nano and to create an engaging experience that would allow visitors to find personal relevance and meaning in the exhibition...
This report describes findings from SRI’s research on Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE Net)-supported partnerships between university scientists and museum professionals to educate the public about nano-scale science, engineering, and technology ("nano"). These kinds of partnerships have the potential...
Held in 2013, this online brown-bag conversation provides examples of real nano products so you can incorporate them in your current demonstrations and visitor conversations. It may even inspire ideas for a new program or demonstration! Presented by: Frank Kusiak...
"Exploring Size - Tiny Ruler" is a hands-on activity investigating just how small a billionth of a meter is. Visitors attempt to cut a paper ruler down to a nanometer-sized sliver. They learn that nano is too small to see,...