NanoEarth Introduces Nanoscience During VT Science Festival
Virginia Tech Science Festival November 11, 2023
The National Center for Earth and Environmental Nanotechnology Infrastructure (NanoEarth) brought hands-on nanoscience to Virginia Tech’s 2023 Science Festival on Saturday, November 11th. NanoEarth has participated in the festival each year since 2014, excluding the limited 2020 virtual event. The Virginia Tech Center for Educational Networks and Impacts (CENI) theme of “science is bigger than you think” allowed NanoEarth to delve into the big possibilities of nanotechnology research. The free and public event catered to K - 12 age groups, families, school field trips, and the general public and reached 3600 visitors, including 15 schools from West Virginia and Virginia.
Throughout the day, guests participated in hands-on demonstrations, watched live presentations, and learned about science in everyday life. NanoEarth’s Diversity and Outreach Coordinator Sylvianne Velasquez, Postdoctoral Associate Bipin Lade, Ph.D., Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) Specialist Charis Horn, Ph.D., and Virginia Tech graduate student Lisley Gomes discussed nanoscience with visitors through interactive hands-on demonstration NanoDays Kits. Participants learned about water resistant nano-coated fabric that can be found in clothing at the stores, hydrophobic nano-sand that will never mix with water, and ferrofluid used in United States currency to detect counterfeit bills. Interested students took home kid friendly Nanooze magazines, created by the Cornell Nanoscale Facility (CNF).
