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Public engagement resources for the Monday April 8, 2024 Solar Eclipse
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Shrinking Robots!

In this program and stage presentation, learners design and build a robot toy from recycled and craft materials after hearing a presentation about the challenges in creating nano-sized robots.

DESCRIPTION

"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 second part of the program, visitors design and build a robot toy from recycled and craft materials.

JUMP TO BROWSE RELATED RESOURCES
  • Illustration of nano-sized robots
  • Image of a yellow Industrial robot
  • A person with computer chips stuck on their face
  • A micrograph of a really small robot
  • Illustration of nano-sized robots
  • Image of a yellow Industrial robot
  • A person with computer chips stuck on their face
  • A micrograph of a really small robot

DESCRIPTION

"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 second part of the program, visitors design and build a robot toy from recycled and craft materials.

JUMP TO BROWSE RELATED RESOURCES

TRAINING VIDEOS

OBJECTIVES

BIG IDEA

Right now, nanobots don't exist. There are many challenges related to creating a nano-sized robot.

LEARNING GOALS

  • A robot is a machine that can sense, plan, and act.

  • The smallest robots that exist today are the size of the width of a human hair.

  • Nano is very, very small.

  • Nanobots (nano-sized robots) would be robots as small as cells or molecules.

  • Nanobots don't exist today.

  • There are significant challenges related to building, powering, and controlling nanoscale robots.

  • Nanotechnology means working at small size scales, manipulating materials to exhibit new properties.

  • No one knows what nanoscale research may discover, or how it may be applied.

NANO CONTENT MAP

Nanoscience, nanotechnology, and nanoengineering lead to new knowledge and innovations that weren't possible before.

Credits

YEAR CREATED
2008
OWNING INSTITUTION

Sciencenter

FUNDING

Developed for the NISE Network with funding from the National Science Foundation under Award Numbers 0532536 and 0940143. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this product are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.

PERMISSIONS

Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike 3.0 United States (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US).
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DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

NISE Network products are developed through an iterative collaborative process that includes scientific review, peer review, and visitor evaluation in accordance with an inclusive audiences approach. Products are designed to be easily edited and adapted for different audiences under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike license. To learn more, visit our Development Process page.