Faculty Advisor(s): Melloch, Reifenberger, Guo

In order to bridge the gap between the rapidly expanding field of nanotechnology and the general public, the LEGO Scanning Probe Microscope Team (LSPM) developed tutorials to bring nanotechnology to the masses. With our goal in mind, many steps were taken to determine a vehicle through which our information could be conveyed. Research was conducted to better understand the ways through which students learn best. Since some students learn by reading and writing, others through listening and speaking, and some through touching and movement, it was decided that the educational materials would have to provide visual, auditory, and motor activities. This was found to be best accomplished using interactive animations with Flash MX. These animations, containing both text and audio feeds, allow users to navigate through the areas that interest them most. To make the tutorials accessible to all, they are posted on our website. In order to allow people of all ages to benefit from these materials, the general background is geared to a grade school audience, but more in-depth information is available for those in high school and beyond. The animation to be presented will describe the top-down and bottom-up approaches.

If you reference this work in a publication, please cite as follows:

• Evans, Charles (2004), "Educational Outreach in Nanotechnology," http://www.nanohub.org/resources/734/.

  BibTex | EndNote

1. education