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This illustration shows a butterfly's wing across ten orders of magnitude, from the butterfly to the atoms of which it is made. Using the conventions of visual perspective the image travels in one continuous "landscape" from the human scale at...

Ideas for incorporating current science, engineering, and technology content into holidays, seasons, annual events, and special events: from STEM-themed events like National Chemistry Week and Astronomy Day to holidays like Halloween and Valentine's Day!

"Making Molecular Movies with QSTORM" is a public presentation that details the on-going interdisciplinary research project of a group of scientists/engineers who are collaborating to make a breakthrough in biological imaging. They are trying to make movies of the molecular...

Scanning Electron Microscope image of the overlapping scales on a Blue Morpho Butterfly wing. • SIZE: Scale bar representes 20 µm. • IMAGING TOOL: Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)

Changing Colors is an interactive exhibit that shows how some high-tech nanomaterials mimic natural phenomena. Super-small, light-reflecting structures—instead of pigments—on the wings of some butterflies create intense, iridescent colors. Nanoscientists have replicated this effect with layered, super-thin films. Watch the...

Zoom into the natural nanostructures that manipulate light on a Blue Morpho Butterfly! Starting with a normal digital camera, we zoom into the wing of the Blue Morpho using more powerful microscopes. We see the wing underneath an optical microscope,...

Scanning electron microscope image of a Blue Morpho butterfly wing. • SIZE: Scale bar representes 200 µm • IMAGING TOOL: Table-top Scanning Electron Microscope

"DNA Nanotechnology" is a facilitated, hands-on activity exploring deoxyribonucleic acid, a nanoscale structure that occurs in nature. Visitors extract a sample of DNA from split peas and put it in an Eppendorf tube to take home. They learn that nanoscientists...

Mr. O talks about iridescence and Blue Morpho butterflies in another "O Wow" moment at the Children's Museum of Houston.

New tools—like "CRISPR"—are making it possible to edit DNA with great precision. Soon, we will be able to accurately alter targeted sections of the genome of other animals and plants, as well as our own DNA. But should we? In...

This formative evaluation looks at the second version of a poster created to help visitors visualize the nanoscale structures in a butterfly wing. This version includes annotations to call out the different structures of the butterfly wing and reflects changes...

Visitors will engage in activities showing various natural phenomena that scientists and engineers have emulated to address human problems. Visitors view peacock feathers at different angles to see iridescence, apply drops of water to observe the color changes, and look...

Scanning electron microscope image of nanoscale structures on a Blue Morpho butterfly wing. • SIZE: Scale bar representes 200 nm • IMAGING TOOL: Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)

This hands-on activity will guide you in making a synthetic gecko tape with micron sized hairs that mimics that behavior of the gecko foot. The process is called "nanomolding." Also described is an easy setup using Legos for testing how...

Duke University researchers explain the relationship between nanomaterials, in particular nano silver, and their potential impact on the ecosystem. To see the video and learn more about the Center for the Environmental Implications of NanoTechnology at Duke, visit the resources...

"Exploring the Universe: Imagining Life" is a hands-on activity in which visitors imagine and draw an extreme environment beyond Earth, then invent a living thing that could thrive in it. They learn that NASA scientists study extremophiles on Earth to...

A collection of short articles that highlight various topics in the field of nanotechology.

Big Fish, Little Fish is a cart demo that can also be used as a classroom activity that focuses on what biomagnification is and how it happens in our ecosystems. Visitors will see a short visual demonstration followed by an...

Scanning electron microscope image of nanoscale structures on a Blue Morpho butterfly wing. • SIZE: Scale bar representes 1 µm • IMAGING TOOL: Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM)

"Exploring Size - Powers of Ten" is a card game exploring the relative sizes of various objects. Visitors compete to organize their hand of cards into lists of objects from largest to smallest. "Explore Science - Zoom into Nano Powers...

"Exploring Structures - Butterfly" is a hands-on activity in which visitors investigate how some butterfly wings get their color. They learn that some wings get their color from the nanoscale structures on the wings instead of pigments. "Explore Science -...

"Exploring Structures - DNA" is a hands-on activity in which visitors create a necklace of wheat germ DNA. They learn that self-assembly is a process by which molecules and cells form themselves into functional structures.

Photograph of a Blue Morpho butterfly wing.

This is a framework for a summer camp for campers aged 8 - 10 years. Campers learn about nanoscale science and engineering through hands-on activities. The framework can be delivered in 5 half-day (1.5 – 2 hour) sessions. Alternately, the...

In this hands-on activity, visitors explore the structure of seashells and learn that seashells are a composite material made of both inorganic and organic materials. Visitors compare the mechanical properties of plaster bricks and dried sheets of glue, which helps...