One focus of the 7th grade science curriculum is the behavior of matter at the particle level. GEMS Fellow-Teacher Science Teams visited the University's Belknap Research Building clean room to learn about research initiatives in nanoscience. They 'bunnied up' and toured the clean room, saw how light can be used as the force (energy) to reposition or arrange tiny amounts of matter, and even tried their hands with SEM (scanning electron microscopy).

 

close up suit photo
Teams and mentors 'bunny-up' before entering the clean room.
suit up photo
Teams and mentors 'bunny-up' before entering the clean room.
going in photo
Once suited up, the group can enter the clean room
clean room photo
Teams and mentors get an explanation of just how small nanoparticles are ---and how a speck of dust introduces a contaminant bigger than the matter the researchers are studying.
Gems photo
A graduate student explains why certain wavelengths are filtered out of the lighting.
Beetle Head photo
The head of a beetle viewed through the scanning electron microscope.
Flywing hair photo
A fly wing hair viewed through the scanning electron microscope.
Gems photo
A teacher's hair viewed through the scanning electron microscope.

 

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