The following workshops will be offered for K-12 teachers throughout the year. Please see our latest schedule for more information on upcoming workshops.
Biogels (Elementary Biopolymers)
How can something that is mostly made up of water – boba, diapers, humans – retain a solid structure? In a series of investigations where students perform hands-on activities, they will come to understand that biology depends on the organization of biomolecular scaffolds, called structural biopolymers, at the nanoscale. Students will synthesize biogels of different stiffness using common food ingredients. We will give you the pedagogical tools to work with students at any level between grades 3-8. This is also a fun introduction to food science.
Level: Elementary + Middle School
Concept areas: Chemistry, Biology, Integrative Science, Engineering
The Science of Mood Rings (Thermotropic Liquid Crystals)
Why do mood rings actually change color? How does it work? In a series of investigations, students will be led step-by-step to learn about the different states of matter, the unique properties of liquid crystals and their applications, and make their own “switchable glass” windows. When the organization of the liquid crystals is on the nanoscale, they can interact with visible light (nanometer wavelengths) to produce interesting optical properties, like affecting the color we see. In this workshop, you will be given the pedagogical tools to teach students how liquid crystals are a class of materials with a state of matter that has properties between those of liquids and solid crystals.
Level: Elementary + Middle School
Concept areas: Physics, Engineering, Integrative Science, STEAM
Indirect Measurement of a Molecule (Elementary Measurement at the Nanoscale)
How can you measure that which is unobservable to the naked eye? In this experiment, students will indirectly measure the size of an oil molecule. Students will first be introduced to a phenomenon – the forming of an oil monolayer on a water surface. Then, through a series of investigations and hands-on activities, they will come to understand how oil and water interact, why oil molecules form a single layer on the surface, and how they can use math (volume of a cylinder) to calculate the size of an oil molecule. In this workshop, you will be given the pedagogical tools to present the mathematics components of the experiment to the math level (grades 3-8) of your students.
Level: Elementary + Middle School
Concept areas: Chemistry, Physics, Integrative Science, Engineering
The Lotus Effect (Elementary Nanoscale Control of Wetting)
Why does water bead up on the surface of a lotus leaf? In this experiment, students will perform a series of investigations and hands-on activities where they characterize the water droplet shape on various surfaces and are given scientific language to describe surface wettability (hydrophobic/philic). When nanoscale surface features are introduced, these properties can be enhanced to form SUPERhydrophobic/philic surfaces. Students will learn the concepts of surface chemistry and wettability through observing nature (plant leaves) and the world around them. Students will also be introduced to the concept of scientists learning from nature and applying that knowledge for emerging industrial applications of materials with these unique characteristics.
Level: Elementary + Middle School
Concept areas: Chemistry, Biology, Integrative Science, Engineering
Biopolymers
What gives water-based lifeforms their solid structure? Through phenomenon-driven inquiry based methods, this set of explorations is designed to demonstrate step by step that biology depends on the organization of biomolecular scaffolds, called structural biopolymers, at the nanoscale. Students synthesize gels of different component concentrations to determine its effect on gel elasticity.
Level: Middle + High School
Concept areas: Chemistry, Biology, Integrative Science, Physics, Engineering
Biosensors
Level: Middle + High School
Concept areas: Chemistry, Biology, Integrative Science, Engineering
Biotoxicity
How can we overcome the looming threat of antimicrobial resistance? Nanotechnology may be one of the keys. Colloidal silver is an antifungal agent used in bandages. Unlike silver ion solutions, colloidal silver is toxic to microbes without harming humans. In this experiment, students will synthesize silver nanoparticles and test its ability to inhibit the rate of yeast cellular respiration (carbon dioxide production) compared to other silver-containing compounds. This experiment highlights the fundamental concepts of cellular respiration, data quantification, and the use of nanotechnology for real-world applications.
Level: Middle + High School
Concept areas: Chemistry, Biology, Integrative Science
Emulsions and Microfluidic Mixing
Have you ever wondered why salad dressings tend to separate into an oil phase and a water phase, but when you shake it they mix together? In this experiment, students will be introduced to the concept of emulsions – fine dispersions of minute droplets of one liquid in another in which it is not soluble or miscible. Students will create emulsions with common food-safe reagents that they might encounter when baking a cake and measure their stability over time. Students will also work with a 3D-printed microfluidic device to create sub-micron-sized droplets that can be observed under a microscope.
Level: Middle + High School
Concept areas: Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Integrative Science, Engineering
Measurement at the Nanoscale (Diffraction of Light Waves)
How can you measure that which is unobservable to the naked eye? In this experiment, students will learn about properties of light waves. Students will pass laser light through a material that has nanoscale spacings that bend the light to produce a diffraction pattern. From the diffraction pattern (macroscopic observation), students can mathematically calculate the nanoscale spacing (Pythagorean Theorem or trigonometry). In this workshop, you will be given the pedagogical tools to present the mathematics components of the experiment to the math level (grades 6-12) of your students.
Level: Middle + High School
Concept areas: Chemistry, Physics, Integrative Science, Engineering
Nanoscale Control of Wetting (Superhydrophobic Surfaces)
Why does water bead up on the surface of a lotus leaf? In this experiment, students will characterize the water droplet shape on various surfaces and are given scientific language to describe surface wettability (hydrophobic/philic). When nanoscale surface features are introduced, these properties can be enhanced to form SUPERhydrophobic/philic surfaces. Students will physically and chemically modify surfaces to change the surface wettability. Students will also be introduced to the concept of scientists learning from nature and applying that knowledge for emerging industrial applications of materials with these unique characteristics. The superhydrophobic surfaces experiment blends elements from chemistry, biology, and physics to vividly demonstrate how the incorporation of nanoscale texture at a material’s surface can lead to dramatic changes in certain physical properties.
Level: Middle + High School
Concept areas: Chemistry, Biology, Integrative Science, Engineering
Nanoscale Patterning (Photolithography)
How are the small patterns on circuit boards for computers and phones made? In this experiment, students use light to transfer a pattern onto a surface, ultimately resulting in a network of very small metal wires on a plastic board. Students can then measure resistance as a function of wire length and wire diameter to explore both the positive and negative resistive aspects of making things small, but close together. This top-down approach to nanotechnology is commonly used in manufacturing circuit boards for computers and other electronics, and students will learn the very simple chemistry and physics at the core of photolithography.
Level: Middle + High School
Concept areas: Chemistry, Physics, Engineering, STEAM
Water Purification
Where does your water come from and what is in it? Clean water and water reuse is among the greatest challenges of modern times. In this experiment, affinity and size exclusion methods of filtration are visually explored using various commercial and laboratory nanomaterial-based methods. Students will learn about organic, heavy metal, and biological contaminants and ways to filter them from water.
Level: Middle + High School
Concept areas: Chemistry, Biology, Integrative Science, Environmental Science, Engineering
Building a Virus (Computational Nanoscience)
How do complex nano-structures like viruses spontaneously form? In this combination of computational and hands-on explorations, students will learn the physics and chemistry that allows for complex nanoscale structural generation, the same process that goes into viral self-assembly.
Level: High School
Concept areas: Chemistry, Biology, Integrative Science, Computer Science
Color from Gold (Plasmonic Nanoparticles)
What color is gold? When you think of gold, you may think of the metallic yellow color. However, gold at the nanoscale can take on a variety of colors (red, blue/purple, red/green). In this experiment, students will synthesize gold nanoparticles of different shapes and sizes and compare the observed color. Students will learn that the color observed is due to the plasmonic resonance (a collective oscillation of electrons on the surface) of gold nanoparticles when they interact with light. Throughout this experiment, students will synthesize gold nanospheres, gold nanostars, and large nanospheres that will interact with light differently based on absorption and scattering.
Level: High School
Concept areas: Chemistry, Physics, STEAM
Fast Batteries (Supercapacitors)
What are ways to store energy? What are the pros and cons of different forms of energy storage? Energy storage is necessary for many important applications such as portable electronics (such as cell phones and wearables), electric vehicles, and renewable energy storage. In this experiment, students will be making and using supercapacitors, which utilize the high surface area of nanostructured carbon to store charge. Students will use their synthesized supercapacitor to power a switch board with different colored LEDs. Through this experiment, students will come to understand the difference between batteries, capacitors, and supercapacitors, and what factors influence the usefulness of different forms of energy storage.
Level: High School
Concept areas: Chemistry, Physics, Engineering
Magnetic Nanoparticles (Ferrofluids)
Originally developed by NASA as a means of moving rocket fuel in a weightless environment, ferrofluids are magnetic liquids used in a wide variety of engineering and consumer applications. In this experiment, students prepare ferrofluids that contain iron oxide nanoparticles approximately 10 nanometers in diameter, which spontaneously magnetizes in the presence of a magnetic field – through solution chemistry materials.
Level: High School
Concept areas: Chemistry, Physics, Engineering, STEAM
Solar Cells
How can we harness energy from the sun? Renewable energy is energy derived from natural sources that are replenished at a higher rate than they are consumed. In this experiment, students will prepare dye-sensitized solar cells – devices which convert light energy into chemical / electrical energy – from simple starting materials and measure their electrical output in the light and dark using a multimeter.
Level: High School
Concept areas: Chemistry, Physics, Integrative Science, Environmental Science, Engineering
