Welcome to the High School Nanoscience Program Website!

The High School Nanoscience Program is a joint effort of the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) and the NSF funded IGERT Materials Creation Training Program (MCTP).  The purpose of the program is to bring nanoscience to high school classes in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and throughout the greater Los Angeles area.  Our basic goal has been to find ways to integrate nanoscience experiments into the prescribed high school curriculum so that they teach required fundamental science concepts, while at the same time introducing students to the new field of nanoscience and exciting them about science in general.  The program, which was started in 2002, involves a group of about 30 graduate students and postdocs associated with the CNSI and the MCTP.  The experiments, many of which were developed at UCLA, can be readily conducted by high school students and demonstrate fundamental concepts about chemistry, physics, biology, and engineering.  Currently we have eight different experiments with more in development.  The experiments give students hands-on experience with materials, methods, and devices, including self-assembly, magnetic fluids, chemical sensors, solar cells, photolithography, superhydrophobic surface (or the lotus effect), water filtration, and the toxicity of nanoscale systems compared to similar materials in bulk form.
        To bring these experiments to high school classrooms, we have teamed up with Center X, which is the science outreach arm of the UCLA School of Education.  Enthusiastic teachers are brought to UCLA for training workshops throughout the school year.  The graduate students and postdoctoral scholars in the program prepare experiment kits to give to teachers for use in their classrooms.  These graduate students and postdoctoral scholars also lead the teacher training workshops.
        This High School Nanoscience Program website provides information about the workshops; descriptions of all of the experiments; copies of manuals and instructional DVDs for teachers enrolled in our workshops, and details about the workshop schedule, and an online signup sheet for teachers.  We are also developing more detailed manuals for teachers outside the Los Angeles area who would like to try these experiments with their classes.  Click on the Try Nanoscience! link and stay tuned for detailed instructions on more experiments in the future.
        UCLA has supported this High School Nanoscience Program through the CNSI, Center X, and a 2003 UCLA-in-LA Community Partnership Grant.  Additional support has also come from the Dreyfus Foundation.  In the past five years, we have partnered with more than 40 LA area schools, providing instruction to close to 100 teachers and engaging many thousands of students.
        The High School Nanoscience Program has received a positive response from participating teachers.  The fundamental concept of nanoscience – that the same materials, made small, can have very different properties – is both exciting and fun to think about and it seems to be an excellent way to bring excitement to the high school science curriculum. 
        The High School Nanoscience program is led by Professor Sarah Tolbert in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.  Additional information can be obtained from the CNSI Administrative Offices or by emailing highschoolnanoscience@cnsi.ucla.edu.