Patrick Henry Elementary Investigates Nanotechnology with NanoEarth at Hokie for a Day
The National Center for Earth and Environmental Research (NanoEarth) participated in the Spring 2024 Hokie for a Day. Led by Virginia Tech’s (VT) Center for Educational Networks and Impacts (CENI), the event hosts multiple Title 1 elementary schools over the Fall and Spring semesters. Students have the opportunity to learn about life on a college campus, pathways to admission, and join in an educational exhibition.
NanoEarth hosted a booth to teach 59 fifth grade students and six adults from Patrick Henry Elementary School about nanoscience. Bipin Lade, Ph.D., NanoEarth's Postdoctoral Associate and Charis Horn, Ph.D., NanoEarth’s Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) Instrument Specialist led participants through interactive NanoDays Kits, to gain hands-on nanotechnology experience. Students interacted with two types of fabric. One ordinary fabric and one nano coated fabric that was water resistant. Then they passed around tubes of ferrofluid, learning how it has magnetic properties. Lastly, they played with magic sand, observing the hydrophobic properties from the silicone coated nanoparticles.
Students test how nano and kinetic sand differ from regular sand
