Welcome NISE Network Partners!

www.nisenet.org

December 11, 2014

Presenters

CoCo Tarantal

Early Childhood Education Specialist, Children’s Museum of Tucson

Jennifer Phillips

Volunteer, Education, and Special Events Coordinator, Children’s Museum of Tucson

Sarah Zimmerman

STEM and Education Specialist, Port Discovery Children’s Museum

Aaron Guerrero

NISE Net South Hub Coordinator, Children’s Museum of Houston

Today’s Conversation

• What to keep in mind when engaging young audiences

• How has nano been incorporated into programming

• Tips and troubleshooting for approaches and strategies

 

Children’s Museum of Houston

Aaron Guerrero

NISE Net South Hub/ Children’s Museum Hub Leader

aguerrero@cmhouston.org www.cmhouston.org

Tips for engaging all visitors

http://nisenet.org/sites/default/files/catalog/uploads/8892/training_engaging_tips.pdf

Tips for using NISE Net activities

• Know your audience: We serve ages birth-12, but the average age of children at Science Station is 4-9

• Make sure you are familiar with the content: Read the tabletop thouroghouly beforehand and know which sections to highlight for which age

• Be Flexible: Make sure you make adjustments to the facilitation of activity or the activity itself if needed

Scented Balloons

Scented Balloons, ages 3-5

• There are things so small, like scent molecules, that we can’t SEE them with our eyes

• BUT, we can SMELL them!• Scent molecules are so small, they’re measured in nanometers• Nanometer is a billionth of a meter

Scented Balloons, ages 6-9

• Everything for 3-5 visitors, plus:• You’re smelling the scent

molecules leaking out of the balloon

• Your sense of smell works by identifying the shape of the scent molecules

• Air is leaking from the balloon because of a process called diffusion.

Scented Balloons, tips

• Tie down balloons to table

• Place cotton balls with scent on them inside squeeze bottle

• Squeeze bottle is easier for young children to grab and smell than balloon

Horton Hears a Who, additional activity

• Use Scented Balloons activity for optional activity during the Horton Hears a Who story time

StretchAbility

StretchAbility, ages 3-5

• Discuss different size (introduce the word, scale) of things

• Things we can see with our eyes, things we need a microscope to see, and things that are even smaller than a microscope can see

• Connect scale with everyday items

StretchAbility, ages 6-9

• Everything for 3-5 visitors plus:

• Identify the items according to their scale, macro, micro, and nano

• Nanometer is a billionth of a meter

Memory Game

Memory Game, ages 3-5

• Discuss different size (introduce the word, scale) of things

• Things we can see with our eyes, things we need a microscope to see, and things that are even smaller than a microscope can see

• Make matches while connecting with everyday items

Memory Game, ages 6-9

• Everything for 3-5 visitors plus:

• Identify the items according to their scale, macro, micro, and nano

• Nanometer is a billionth of a meter

• Can also have a new kind of match

Memory Game, new match

•If the visitor picks a macroscale image of a gecko and a nanoscale image of the hair on a gecko’s foot, you can call that a match by taking the time to explain how they’re related

Build a Giant Puzzle

Build a Giant Puzzle, ages 3-5

• Use the gecko and blue morpho butterfly images

• Let visitors know that even though we can see these animals with our eyes, they have features (special properties) that we can’t see

• These features affect the way these animals are seen or behave

Build a Giant Puzzle, ages 6-9

• After they complete each picture of the puzzle, have them read the information in the corner

• Explain the nano connection• A Nanometer is a billionth of

a meter• Assign the visitor a picture

and make it a race to see how fast they can complete the puzzle

UV Bracelets

UV Bracelets

• The UV beads change colors because they’re made with a special material that is effected by the ultraviolet flashlight

• The way things behave on the macroscale (things we can see) are affected by the way they’re made on the nanoscale (a billionth of a meter), by things we can’t see like molecules

UV Bracelets

• Everything for 3-5 visitors plus:

• The UV beads contain a special material called a photochromic dye

• The molecules of this special dye, change color when the ultraviolet light is turned onto them

• UV light causes the molecule of the dye to change shape which changes the color

Please either type a question in the chat box or “raise your hand” to ask a question through audio for any of the presenters.

Questions from the Audience

THANK YOU!To all our partners - we could not do this work without you!

This presentation is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0940143.Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this presentation are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.