Dress for (nano) Success
Spilling water on your pants—in front of a live audience—might be embarrassing in most work situations, but for Frank Kusiak it’s all part of the job. An LHS science educator, Kusiak happily spilled water on his Gap “stress-free” khakis during the 2009 San Diego Science Festival. The spill demonstrated stain-resistant properties of fabric created with nanotechnology, and was part of LHS outreach that took Kusiak and Darrell Porcello, LHS Center for Technology Innovation director, to the largest public science event in the United States.
On April 4th, some 50,000 people streamed through San Diego’s Balboa Park on Expo Day of the monthlong “The Science of You” festival. Thousands visited the hands-on station where Kusiak, Porcello and scientists from the Materials Research Society facilitated nano themed activities.
“The immense enthusiasm for nanotechnology that all our visitors showed, from 5-year-yolds to scientists who wanted to learn more, was incredible,” observed Kusiak.
Visitors eagerly grabbed up 1500 models of a buckyball (a ball-shaped carbon molecule), hundreds of “Feel Nano” magnets, and countless “I’m made of atoms” water-transfer fun tattoos. Children and adults alike were fascinated by a 20-foot tall balloon sculpture of a carbon nanotube. Real carbon nanotubes, rolled-up carbon atom sheets just a few billionths of a meter in size, are among the hottest tools in nanotechnology. For something so small, public interest is huge, Kusiak said.
“As more nanoproducts come to market, for medicine, computers, and many consumer products, increasing public awareness brings more focus on atomic level forces that can take advantage of the way things behave at the atomic level,” he noted.
Many parents also see nanotechnology as a future career field for their children.
The San Diego Science Festival, just launched this year, is a new addition to the Hall’s outreach. LHS educators regularly participate in many public education events including UC Berkeley’s Cal Day, the environmental education BAEER Fair, as well as California and national conferences such as the California Science Teachers Association and the Association of Science and Technology Centers.