Outreach / Education – Archive

High School | K-8 Students | Teachers | Community


High School

Big Red Road Show

Big Red Road Show 2012 with Prof. Rebecca Lai from Chemistry
Big Red Road Show 2012 with Prof. Rebecca Lai from Chemistry
Big Red Road Show 2012 with Prof. Rebecca Lai from Chemistry
Big Red Road Show 2012 with Prof. Rebecca Lai from Chemistry

NCMN helped recruit high school seniors to member departments this year by participating in the Big Red Road Show event at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha. Thousands of high school students and parents attended. Dr. Yunshen Zhou from Electrical Engineering, his doctoral student, Wenjia Hou, Terese Janovec, NCMN Outreach Coordinator and NCMN Undergraduate Fellow, Parise Reynolds visited with parents and students at the event, provided free giveaways, hands-on experiences, and personal advising to support students in their college search process.

2015 National & Nebraska Science Olympiad


2015 National Science Olympiad

2015 National Science Olympiad

2015 National Science Olympiad

2015 National Science Olympiad

NCMN presented an interactive booth of activities about carbon structures, memory metals and metal organic frameworks at the 2015 National Science Olympiad hosted by UNL. More than 2,000 middle- and high-school students from across the nation competed in categories ranging from earth science and chemistry to physics and engineering. The national tourney, which is held at a different university each year, is the culmination of regional and state tournaments. Learn more about Science Olympiad at https://www.soinc.org and http://news.unl.edu/newsrooms/unltoday/article/stem-expo-opens-national-science-olympiad/.

K-8

Junior High Teaching Camp

Junior High Teaching Camp 2015
Junior High Teaching Camp 2015
Junior High Teaching Camp 2015
Junior High Teaching Camp 2015

Students, 6-9th grade, were part of a weeklong Teaching Camp sponsored by the College of Education and Human Sciences in June. The Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience provided a session to the junior high students about what’s happening in the materials and nanoscience world. Students toured facilities which included scanning probe and electron microscopes, a world class cleanroom, laser equipment, and more. Students also received training on how to use prepackaged “nanokits” to teach others about nanotechnology concepts.

Bright Lights Engineering Camp

Bright Lights E-Camp
Bright Lights E-Camp
Bright Lights E-Camp
Bright Lights E-Camp

NCMN faculty presented hands-on activities and information about nanotechnology at the College of Engineering's Bright Lights Engineering Camp held July 12-16. Prof. Eva Franke-Schubert (Electrical Engineering) and Prof. Stephen Ducharme (Physics & Astronomy) taught 6-8 graders about ferrofluids, nanostructures, solar cells, electron microscope, nanoparticle capacitors, and quantum dots.

Big Red Stars

Dr. Binek's sound wave-slinky demonstration
Dr. Binek's Flute demonstration
Dr. Binek with Guitar and flames demonstration
Screen presentations

Big Red Stars is a special recognition program designed to honor outstanding eighth-grade Nebraska students. Every spring these students are nominated by their school guidance counselors and receive an award for their excellence in school and community involvement. NCMN faculty member Christian Binek inspired about 125 Big Red Star students to learn the physics of waves through a variety of interactive activities including a giant slinky, flutes, and flames controlled by an electric guitar.

Junior STEM Fellows Program

Junior STEM Fellows Program 2012
Junior STEM Fellows Program 2012
Junior STEM Fellows Program 2012, Stephen Ducharme
Junior STEM Fellows Program 2012

NCMN partnered with the College of Education and Human Sciences to provide inquiry science lab experience for 7th and 8th grade students with an interest in science.  Students worked with a scientist for about 2-1/2 hours doing a lab activity related to their area of research but age-appropriate. Students engaged in actually “doing” research as well as seeing research being done in scientists’ labs. Running concurrently with the Junior STEM program were related workshops for the teachers and principals accompanying these students.

Saturday Science

Saturday Scientist 2013
Saturday Scientist 2014
Junior STEM Fellows Program 2012, Stephen Ducharme
Saturday Scientist 2013

NCMN partnered with the UNL Physics and Astronomy department during their annual Saturday Science series held during February for Lincoln Public School 5th graders. NCMN Undergraduate Fellows and staff shared information and giveaways about nanoscience with about 200 students at the event.

Lincoln Children's Museum

Adults are curious too
Volunteer Tathagata Mukherjee draws a crowd
Pouring the Nano Ice Cream Mixture into SS bowl
Tathagata Mukherjee entertains curios young audience

Children explored the very small world of nano and enjoyed a sweet treat at the Lincoln Children's Museum. NCMN teamed up with Department of Physics & Astronomy students, to demonstrate how to make "nano" ice cream and gave away free samples to over 200 children & parents visiting the Museum. The ice cream was made from cream, sugar, and vanilla just like regular ice cream, but went through a special freezing process using liquid nitrogen that froze the ice cream mixture FAST into very small (nano) sized crystals. Graduate Student, Tathagata Mukherjee (shown above) works with the Prof. Christian Binek group at UNL.

Teachers

Preservice Teacher Training

Teacher Workshop 2015
Teacher Workshop 2015
Teacher Workshop 2015
Teacher Workshop 2015

NCMN complimented efforts by UNL’s College of Education and Human Sciences by providing nanoscience related resources for preservice teacher training. Students used NCMN Nanokits to prepare lessons themed around nanoscientists for a K-3 elementary school summer camp. Curriculum units were made that either built to a cumulative nano lesson or lessons that integrated nano throughout. The students taught and then made modifications to their lessons based on their own learning experiences. Preservice teachers visiting from a South Korea exchange program observed their American counterparts in action and had an opportunity to also learn about how nanotechnology is used in improving circuits, creating invisibility, and cleaning water.

Nebraska Teacher Conferences

Dr. Lai at NATS Conference 2011
Dr. Zheng at NATS conference 2011
Dr. Zheng at NATS Conference 2011 demonstrating Nanotubes
Terese Janovec at NATS conference
•  AIM/Infotech Conference

Dr. Enders was invited to give a presentation to business entrepreneurs at an AIM/Infotec Conference in Omaha on the scientific trends and product applications of nanotechnology in a variety of areas but specifically in computing technology and what the future might hold for us. AIM is a non profit community organization that promotes technology to empower people, enhance organizations, and create brilliant communities.

Community

Astronomy Day

Astronomy Day 2016
Astronomy Day 2016
Astronomy Day 2016
Astronomy Day 2016

The University of Nebraska State Museum hosted its annual Astronomy Day celebration. NCMN participated in the event, which included a booth with information, hands-on activities, and games about carbon nanotubes, metals that change shape on their own, and space elevators which are now a possibility because of new and innovative materials. Over 300 visitors attended the afternoon event.

Museum Exhibits

Hastings Museum Image 1
Hastings Museum Image 2
Hastings Museum Image 3
Hastings Museum Image 4

We’ve expanded our STEM/Nano learning experiences to new rural areas where audiences are underserved in terms of science opportunities. Partnering with Hastings Museum we showcased 14 nanoart pictures created from actual research at the University along with several nano activity kits. Museum staff were trained to make presentations to thousands of visitors and Hastings Channel 5 covered the exhibit. The exhibit was held in conjunction with National Geographic’s new IMAX movie “Unseen World.”

Nano Science Café

Red 9 Nano Science Cafe' Crowd
Dr. Christian Binek's Entertaining Science!
Dazzling display by Binek in the Dark
Dr. Christian Binek's Entertaining Science!

The Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln presents NanoScience Café’s at local venues throughout the year.  Science cafes are live events in casual settings like pubs or coffeehouses, where scientists engage the public in conversations about current science topics. UNL professors from Physics, Chemistry, and Engineering departments have given creative and interesting presentations about new discoveries related to stem cell research, DNA sensors, self-assembly at the nanoscale, nanowave properties, bone replacement, and other nanoscience topics. Cafes allow people of all ages a fun and relaxed environment to learn about matter at the nanoscale and its future applications.

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

Osher Lifelong Inst. Members
Osher Lifelong Inst. Members
Osher Lifelong Inst. Members with Dr. Binek
Osher Lifelong Inst. Members

A joint presentation and tour was given by Professors David Sellmyer, Yongfeng Lu and Christian Binek for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. NCMN provided the Institute’s members stimulating information designed specifically for lifelong learners 50 years and older. About 25 learners enjoyed interesting activities focused on Materials and Nanoscience research, equipment, and future applications.

Sunday with a Scientist

Sunday with a Sicentist - Dr. Ducharme
Sunday with a Scientist at Morrill Hall
Sunday Afternoon with a Scientist
Explainations are one on one at Sunday with a Scientist

The Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience partners with the University of Nebraska State Museum as part of their Sunday with a Scientist series. Some presentations have highlighted the nanoscience work of our Center’s scientists while educating kids and families. Dr. Stephen Ducharme (Physics & Astronomy), Dr. Linxia Gu (Mechanical Engineering), Dr. Rebecca Lai (Chemistry), and their colleagues have shared scientific information about LED’s, tissue mechanics, and DNA, in a fun, informal way through hands-on demonstrations and a variety of activities.  An average of 200-250 people attended these events.