K-12 Teacher Workshops

The CHM's focal point of educational contact is a week-long "Nanotechnology Institute" workshop for 20-30 middle school and high school science teachers offered annually each summer. The sixth annual workshop will take place on July 7 - July 11, 2014 . Detailed information and all educational materials can be found at the STEM Education Institute's page for CHM Nanotechnology Education projects.

Participating teachers learn hands-on classroom activities that integrate nanoscience and engineering concepts into the existing science curriculum and help to satisfy state and national curriculum standards:

• Oleic acid on water nanolayer formation experiment
• Diffusion experiment to demonstrate nanomedicine cancer therapy
• "Size matters" experiment (adapted from Nanosense)
• Nanoparticle-based sunscreen experiment (adapted from Nanosense)
• Atomic force microscopy prototype experiment
• Ferrofluid synthesis experiment for nanomedicine
• Synthetic opals experiment (adapted from NCLT)
• Electroplating and lithography experiment
• Magnetic data storage experiment

All activities are designed for the classroom using inexpensive materials. Teachers also participate in discussions and presentations to reinforce the science activity topics, tour laboratories, and view computer-based learning modules complementing the hands-on activities. To earn professional development points and graduate credit, teachers may develop classroom curriculum by adapting some of the materials presented during the workshop, use it in their classes, and then report back in two half-day sessions in the fall.

The CHM also engages in general K-12 science outreach activities such as "Science Saturday" events for dozens of science teachers, class field trip lab tours, school visits, and day-long weekend workshops for middle school students and parents. Each event includes hands-on nanotech learning activities, lectures, and discussions about implications of nanotechnology.

If you are a teacher interested in participating in a future CHM Nanotechnology Institute, contact nano@umassk12.net.