Nano Activities for Kids

What is a microcapsule? It is just a very small capsule which is so small you need a microscope to see it well. Researchers are trying to use the process of making microcapsules, called microencapsulation, to make our lives better. 

In this activity, you will grow a couple of different types of crystals using everyday materials. 

Changing the process of making Lemon Ices makes two completely different consistencies of dessert! Similarly, when scientists make things in their lab they may use one combination of materials and try hundreds of different processes to get different end results.

In this experiment, you will test the amount of energy absorbed by different types of materials by dropping balls and water balloons.

Why is some candy hard while others are soft? Why do some last forever and others melt in your mouth? The texture and some behaviors of candy are due to their structure on the atomic level.

Can you picture the atoms that make up the materials in your everyday life? How are they arranged? An amorphous solid is a solid made of atoms that do not have long-range order and they don’t line up like in the picture above.

Make a delicious candy model of a strand of DNA that looks like a ladder that has been twisted into a corkscrew.

In this activity, you will extract DNA from green split peas. To do this, you will go through a series of steps that include breaking the cell apart, releasing the DNA from the nucleus, and protecting the DNA from enzymes that will shear or break it down.

An enzyme is a molecule that speeds up a reaction. In the case of DNA reproduction, enzymes not only speed up the reaction, they are necessary for DNA reproduction.

DNA is a set of instructions that tells our cells how to build protein. These instructions are in a language that we did not understand until recently.

DNA contains all the information needed to build your body. Did you know that your DNA determines things such as your eye color, hair color, height, a nd even the size of your nose?

A hard outer shell surrounds all chicken eggs. But did you know that underneath that shell is a membrane similar to what surrounds cells? In this experiment, we will take advantage of that fact by removing the shell to more closely examine a membrane.

The job of the cell membrane is to both separate the cell from what surrounds it and, most importantly, control what is able to enter and exit the cell. Let's model a membrane!

You may not have ever heard of the word diffusion, but you experience its effects everyday! Diffusion is defined simply as the movement of things from where they are more concentrated to where they are less concentrated.

The smallest and simplest unit of life is called a cell. Learn what is inside a cell and the difference between plant and animal cells.

All living things, from the tree outside your window, to your pet, to your own body are made of many tiny living cells.

Feeling sick can be caused by an organism that enters the body called a pathogen. There are four major types of pathogens that can invade the human body - bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. 

The immune system works to help keep our bodies safe from millions of tiny organisms that could make us sick.

Do you wash your hands EVERY time you use the restroom? Washing your hands is one of the best ways to prevent being sick.

How can antibiotic resistance occur? Learn the importance of taking prescribed antibiotics for the recommended amount of time.

Bacteria often grow in groups to better their chance of survival and spread their species more efficiently. A biofilm is a great example of this phenomenon. 

Cell Culture is a technique used to grow and identify microorganisms that are found in our environment.