Visitors "travel through time" with a host playing several characters: from the Future, 1900, 1945 and 1999. Visitors answer questions in a quiz about other people's predictions of future technology, and then are invited to make their own predictions.
This is a large group version of the Surface Area program. In this interactive stage presentation, audience members are measured in nanometers and demonstrate the effectiveness of "nano" silver in killing germs. Other highlights include a fireball that starts and...
"Making Molecular Movies with QSTORM" is a public presentation that details the on-going interdisciplinary research project of a group of scientists/engineers who are collaborating to make a breakthrough in biological imaging. They are trying to make movies of the molecular...
Museum visitors are contestants in a game show that encourages them to learn more about nanotechnology. The three rounds included here cover an introduction to nanotechnology; provide information on nanoparticle solar cells; and express the concerns people have for nanotechnology....
"Shrinking Robots!" explores the possibility of nanobots. Visitors learn what a robot is and how small real robots are today. They also learn that nanobots don't exist (yet) and consider some of the challenges in creating nano-sized robots. In the...
"Kitchen Chemistry" is a live stage presentation about recognizing and exploring the science that we practice every day in our very own homes. We take a look at the chemistry behind a seemingly simple bowl of spaghetti – from boiling...
"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...
"The Future of Computing" is a public presentation that examines trends in computing technology and predicts what the future of computing might hold for us. Visitors are introduced to the idea of smaller, nanoscale transistors as the key to faster,...
The Tiny Solutions to Our Big Energy Problem program gives a brief overview of energy sources and our current energy crisis and discusses a variety of ways that nanotechnology can improve the way we harness energy (improving solar cells), distribute...
In the first part of the "Robots & People" program, visitors learn what robots and nanobots are, what they can do, and how they affect our lives. In the second part of the program, visitors imagine and draw a robot,...
Like all new technologies, nanotechnology has costs, risks, and benefits we cannot always predict. The Would You Buy That? stage presentation examines and explores ways our consumer behavior both impacts and is impacted by new technology. By looking at historical...
"Treating Tumors with Gold" presents promising research being conducted at Rice University in Texas. Through videos and demonstrations, the program considers the following questions: What is a tumor and what causes it to spread? What is a gold nanoshell and...
"Snowflakes" is a public presentation that introduces nanoscale science through the subject of snowflakes. Visitors learn that the complex structure of snowflakes results from the nanoscale arrangement of water molecules in an ice crystal, and that snowflakes are examples of...
"Nanotech and Consumer Products" is a public presentation that introduces audiences to the growing role of nanotechnology in making consumer products, and encourages them to consider the potential environmental and health risks. During the presentation, visitors are guided through questions...
This program examines and explores social and ethical issues of consumer products from the past, present and future. Audience members are asked to weigh the risks versus the benefits. The audience members are responsible for making choices on what products...
This is a stage presentation, designed for audiences of 11 and up, intended to give a broad overview and introduction to the subject of nanotechnology. The talk attempts to answer three basic questions about nanotech: How is It New, What...
"Nanosilver: Breakthrough or Biohazard?" is a public presentation which introduces audiences to the increasingly frequent use of silver nanoparticles in consumer products. During the presentation, visitors are guided through questions such as: What is nanosilver? Why is it used in...
Presenter puts Mentos candy into soda to create a soda fountain. This is a dramatic demonstration of the effects of surface area. This demonstration isn’t heavily focused on nanotechnology,but can be a spectacular finale that you add on to other...
"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...
Nano Dreams and Nano Nightmares is a big comedy about small things for families with children under the age of ten. This fifteen minute play incorporates puppetry and humor to introduce audiences to nanoscale science.