Search Results
Showing results 1 to 20 of 60
Exploring Materials: Nano Gold
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners discover that nanoparticles of gold can appear red, orange or even blue. They learn that a material can act differently when it’s nanometer-sized.
Surface Area
Source Institutions
In this demonstration, learners discover that nanoparticles behave differently, in part because they have a high surface area to volume ratio.
Tiny Particles, Big Trouble!
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners discover why some nanoscale science and technology is done in the controlled environment of a clean room, what clean rooms are like, and how scientists help keep the clean r
Fan Cart
Source Institutions
If a sailboat is stranded because there is no wind, is it possible to set up a fan on deck and blow wind into the sail to make the boat move?
Exploring Materials: Liquid Crystals
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners discover that the way a material behaves on the macroscale is affected by its structure on the nanoscale.
Liquid Body Armor
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners explore how nanotechnology is being used to create new types of protective fabrics.
Kinetic Sculpture: Program the Pico Cricket to Make Your Art Light Up or Spin
Source Institutions
Use a Pico Cricket (micro-controller) to animate your art! You can program a Pico Cricket to make your art spin, light up, or make music.
Morphing Butterfly
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners explore how nanosized structures can create brilliant color.
The Electric Squeeze
Source Institutions
In this activity/demo about piezoelectricity, learners discover how some crystals produce electricity when squeezed.
Whirling Windmills
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners are challenged to design and construct a windmill to harness the power of wind.
Bounce vs. Thud Balls
Source Institutions
Learners compare the properties of two balls that appear identical. One ball bounces, while the other ball "thuds." The “bounce” ball is made of the polymer polybutadiene (-C4H4-).
Soaring Satellites
Source Institutions
Working in small teams, learners try to build a satellite that can float for at least five seconds in the marked area of a vertical wind tube.
Kinematic Fanatic
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners are challenged to design and build a system of gears and kinematics to create a hand-stamping machine.
Smart Domino Tricks
Source Institutions
In this activity, you take regular dominoes, and turn them into conductive switches that can turn on a LEGO RCX block or Pico Cricket (micro controller). LEGO RCX block or Pico Cricket is required.
Does Sunscreen Protect My DNA?
Source Institutions
In this laboratory experiment, learners explore how effectively different sunscreens protect yeast cells from damage caused by ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
Musical Sculpting Machine: Squeeze Play-Doh to Make Music
Source Institutions
Play-Doh is conductive! Use the semiconductive qualities of Play-Doh to make your own squeezable instrument. Pico Cricket is required.
Fruit Xylophone: Fruit Salad Instrument of the Future!
Source Institutions
This is a perfect summertime lunch activity! Pico Cricket is required (micro controller). First, get a bunch of cut up fruit, line them up, then plug a piece of fruit with a Pico Cricket sensor clip.
Interactive Pencil Drawings: Drawings That Tell a Story!
Source Institutions
Margaret Pezalla-Granlund, a Minnesota artist, came up with this really fun and surprising activity using graphite from a pencil, connected with a Pico Cricket to tell a story: "The first time I saw s
Planting with Precision
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners explore how engineers work to solve the challenges of a society, such as efficient planting and harvesting.
Forms of Carbon
Source Institutions
In this activity, educators can demonstrate how the nanoscale arrangement of atoms dramatically impacts a material’s macroscale behavior.