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Nano Bite: November 2009

Welcome to the November Nano Bite, the monthly e-newsletter for the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network.

What's new in the network?
The Materials Research Society Meeting in Boston is just around the corner (November 30 - December 4).  We're participating in a bunch of activities, including an Education Outreach Symposium, a student mixer for graduate and undergraduate students, hands-on demos at the Prudential Center Mall, and the following professional development workshops and panels:
  • You'll have three chances to catch Tim Miller's workshop titled Mastering Science Presentations on Sunday, November 29th from 5 - 6 pm, Monday, November 30th from 7:30 - 8:30 am, and Tuesday, December 1st from 7:30 - 8:30 am.  
  • Amy Moll will be moderating a Crafting Successful Broader Impacts Plans for NSF Proposals workshop on Tuesday, December 1st from 7 - 7:45 pm.
  • Rae Ostman, Carol Lynn Alpert, Max Evjen, Megan Halpern, Margaret Glass, Amy Moll, Keith Ostfeld, Aditi Risbud, and Beth Stadler will all be participating in a panel discussion titled Engage Any Audience: Effective Outreach Strategies for Nanoscience and Materials Education on December 2nd from 9:15 - 10:00 am.
  • Also on the 2nd, from 11:15 am - noon, Rae is chairing another panel on Innovative Ways to Connect: University, Museum, and Public Partnerships for Nanoscience and Materials Education.
Attendance to the workshops and panels is included in registration, find more information here.
 
The application for the 2010 NanoDays kit is now live!  This year's dates are March 27 - April 4.  Go to www.nisenet.org/nanodays to get more information about NanoDays, look up the contents of this year's kit, and fill out an application for the physical kit.
 
What else?
Need help finding research partners? Educators interested in finding individual researchers willing to help with public outreach efforts should check out the Materials Research Society's NISE Net Collaborator database.  Your regional hub leaders can also help you connect with researchers in your region, click here for a list of the hub leaders and their contact information.  
 
Resources for researchers Researchers interested in getting involved with museums can join the MRS database to offer their services as education outreach volunteers here.  You can also download Wendy Crone's guidebook Bringing Nano to the Public: A Collaborative Opportunity for Researchers and Museums from the nisenet.org catalog.  And again, regional hub leaders can help you connect with local museums and other informal science educators.
 
Knowing Nano Web Seminar Interested in learning more about nano education?  Lisa Regalla is hosting a web seminar, Knowing Nano, on Wednesday, November 11th.  Sponsored by the National Science Teacher's Association, the free program will be geared toward teachers, but would have applicability for most museum, after-school, or ISE educators.  Lisa will be covering some basics of nano, highlighting ways you can incorporate nanoscale science and technology into your biology, chemistry, math, and technology classes, and going over some specific activities. Find out more and register here.  The program will also be archived.
 
At the NISE Net Annual Meeting last September, we asked participants about their favorite nano educational experiences.  Many talked about how exciting it is when researchers connect with the public.  I've posted some of their favorite experiences on the NanoBite blog, as well as some tips from fellow NISE Netters on working with researchers.  Please feel free to add your own experiences or thoughts in the comments.
 
Nano Haikus:
After you read this
Your finger nail will have grown
a nanometer
 
by Troy Dassler

We struggle to show
The size of a molecule.
Kids wait patiently.
 
 
We had lots of great haikus this month, check out the rest on the Nano Bite blog on nisenet.org.