Nanotechnology and Human Health

Classroom Activities

The following classroom activities are some prototypes of instructional maps you can use to navigate through the abstract domain into the realm of interpretation:

Lesson 1: Why Size Matters

Purpose

How large or small are the structures on various levels of organization (e.g. nanoscale)? The goal of this activity is for students to create a visual interpretation of nanostructures.

Materials

Powers of Ten by Charles and Ray Eames

Directions

After viewing and discussing "Powers of Ten" by Charles and Ray Eames, the students will design An Operational Table of Relative Scale to compare exponential terms to corresponding metric prefixes and to illustrate the relationship between specific nanostructures, SI Units for length, and scientific notation.

Evaluation

The final product must contain a table with equivalent values in meters, centimeters, micrometers, and nanometers (e.g. 1 m = 10 ⁰ m = 100 cm = 1,000,000 um = 1,000,000,000 nm). The range for this operational table should be from 10 ¹ m to 10 ^-9 m. Furthermore, illustrations must be included to show actual microscopic structures from the 100,000 nm to 1 nm level of structural organization.

Lesson 2: Waste Water Treatment

Purpose

How safe is our drinking water? The goal of this activity is for students to investigate the quality of drinking water in their home, school, and community.

Materials

• Carolina Wastewater Treatment Kit
• Carolina Water Purification Kit
• Carolina Water Testing Kits
• Department of Public Utilities (DPU) Annual Water Quality Report

Directions

A guided tour of the municipal waste water treatment plant (WWTP) is an integral part of this inquiry based unit. Initially, students will examine the most current DPU Annual Water Quality Report and formulate questions to ask scientists during the field trip. Subsequently, students will simulate a WWTP in class, using the Carolina Wastewater Treatment Kit. They will also investigate the water purification process, and test various water samples (i.e. tap, bottled, and river), using the Carolina Water Purification Kit and Carolina Water Testing Kits, respectively.

Evaluation

After their visit, students will develop an interactive presentation to describe the waste water treatment process to parents and relatives. The final product must summarize the various stages of waste water treatment in a creative way that involves the active participation of all family members living in the student's household.

Lesson 3: Bottled or Tap?

Purpose

What are the environmental and social consequences of bottled water use for the planet? The goal of this activity is for students to produce an Edu~Concert performance, to inform the community about the mounting environmental and human health concerns associated with bottled water.

Materials

• Composition Book
• Liquid Assets (see Teacher Resources)
• Bottled & Sold (see Teacher Resources)
• Indigenous Drums and Percussion Instruments

Directions

After viewing and discussing Liquid Assets, and reading and discussing "Bottled & Sold" by Peter H. Gleick, the students will embark on a journey of rhythms from Africa, Brazil, and the Caribbean with a guest artist (i.e. world percussionist). The students will also explore New World Water by Hip Hop artist Mos Def (see Student Resources), facilitated by a poet activist. Ultimately, the students will create an original piece of choreographed spoken word poetry in concert with world percussion orchestration to express the urgency of the bottled water dilemma in the United States.

Evaluation

The final product must convey the main points of Gleick's position, infusing powerful musical imagery into a coherent summary. Similarly, the spoken word choreography must reflect the social, political, and environmental concerns depicted in Liquid Assets. Bottled or Tap must connect to the lives of the participants.