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Zoom in on Life: Using Biological Processes to Teach the Public about Nanotechnology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2011

Maya Wade
Affiliation:
mwade@fi.edu, The Franklin Institute, United States
Beth Tinker
Affiliation:
etinker@fi.edu, The Franklin Institute, United States
Andrew Greenberg
Affiliation:
greenberg@chem.wisc.edu, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Chemistry, United States
Ronald Dean Redwing
Affiliation:
rdr10@psu.edu, Penn State University, Physics, United States
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Abstract

Through a partnership between the NSF-funded Material Research Science and Engineering Center, Center for Nanoscale Science, at Penn State University and Philadelphia's science museum The Franklin Institute the "Nano-Bio: Zoom in on Life!" program has been produced and distributed to 20 science and children museums in the United States and one science museum in Canada. Distributed shows include the materials needed to perform the demonstration, supplies for a year and additional information including educational materials and a training video. This cart based program includes interactive demonstrations that highlight processes in the human body that occur at the nanoscale and how scientists are exploring natural processes to develop new nanotechnology and nanomaterials. This show is the second in a series of collaborations to create programs for the informal science education world. A development team including Penn State University faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and Franklin Institute staff worked over two years to develop the show. Instrumental in the development were graduate students who were part of a jointly run Penn State-Franklin Institute NSF-funded Internships in Public Science Education (IPSE) program. These science education graduate students helped create, test, and enhance the demonstrations for the Zoom in on Life program.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2006

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References

2 Sternberg, Robert J. Handbook of Creativity. Cambridge University Press, 1999, p.5.Google Scholar
3 In preparation.Google Scholar