Exploring Structures - Buckyballs (NanoDays 08, 09, 10)

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Overview
Standards
Resources
Evaluations
Comments

Overview

Exploring Structures - Buckyballs (NanoDays 08, 09, 10)

Description:

"Exploring Structures - Buckyballs" is a hands-on activity in which visitors fold up a precut shape to make a model of a buckyball. They learn that buckyballs are tiny, soccerball-shaped molecules made of carbon.

Objectives

Big Idea:

Buckyballs are tiny, soccerball-shaped molecules made of carbon.

Learning goals:

Buckyballs are tiny, soccerball-shaped molecules made of carbon.

NISE Net Content Map:

Nanometer-sized things are very small, and often behave differently than larger things do.

Universal design:

Provide multiple entry points and multiple ways of engagement

Credits

Developed for the NISE Network with funding from the National Science Foundation under Award Numbers 0532536 and 0940143. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this product are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.

Owning institution:

Sciencenter

Checklist

Scientist reviewed? check_reviewed

Peer reviewed? check_reviewed

Visitor evaluation? check_reviewed

Nano Topics

Fundamentals, Materials, tools, and applications

Audience

All ages

Permissions

Creative Commons
Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike

Standards

Physical science:

K-4: Properties of objects and materials

5-8: Properties and changes of properties in matter

9-12: Structure and properties of matter

9-12: Structure of atoms

Science and Technology:

K-4: Abilities to distinguish between natural objects and objects made by humans

Resources

Download all files (ZIP)

Evaluations

Exploring Structures: Buckyballs Activity

The Science Museum of Minnesota surveyed 15 museum visitors after they participated in the BuckyBalls NanoDays activity. This formative testing of the activity assessed the activity's ability to teach about nanoscale structures. Read more

Comments

Buckyball from Carbon Nanotube

Submitted by Denise LeBlanc on Thu, 12/20/2012 - 12:58.

We've had our Nano mini-exhibit less than two weeks, and already visitors have built a buckyball!
Denise LeBlanc
The Discovery Museums
Acton, MA

Obtaining more pre-cut paper buckyballs

Submitted by Christina Akers on Thu, 02/18/2010 - 10:41.

To request pre-cut paper buckyballs please contact your regional hub contact, who may have additional limited supplies.

Regional hub contacts and a map can be found on our Network Community page: http://www.nisenet.org/community

Buckyball die cut paper template

Submitted by Christine Roman on Wed, 04/08/2009 - 13:47.

Can you provide directions on how to order refills of the Buckyball die cut paper templates? I ordered 600 last year from MOS and we used all of them last weekend during out NanoDays 2009 event. We had unhappy kids and parents when we ran out!

I have researchers calling from nearby universities and medical schools asking where they can purchase their own for outreach activities -- and I need to re-order some as well.

Thanks,
Chris Roman
Saint Louis Science Center

Great poster

Submitted by Anders Liljeholm on Mon, 03/30/2009 - 09:57.

The Forms of Carbon poster in the nanodays kit was a huge hit with my volunteers. They were getting lots of detailed questions from visitors, and that poster had all the answers.