1. Nanotechnology & Society
Engaging Visitors in
Nanotechnology & Society

2. Agenda “Name and Gesture” improv exercise
Engaging visitors in nano and society
“Nano Around the World” game
Three big ideas for nano and society

3. Improv Exercise Name and Gesture
What skills are we practicing in this activity?

4. Engaging Visitors in Nano & Society
Overarching goal
To empower educators and visitors to reflect on the relevance of nanotechnology to their lives.

5. Why Me? - The Museum The field is moving in this direction…
“Address key issues of significance to society locally and globally for which science understanding and public engagement are essential”
ASTC Strategic Plan, October 2008
“Children’s museums will be essential community resources where play inspires creativity and lifelong learning”
ACM Strategic Framework,
We’re positioned to do it…
Museums can bring together public audiences, educators, and scientists.
NISE Net is working to raise the field’s capacity to engage the public in the relevancy of emerging science and technologies to their everyday lives.

6. Why Me? - The Educator
Conversations about society are integral to learning about nano.
These skills are transferable to other topics.

7. Why Me? – The Public
This is where nano becomes relevant to visitors’ lives.
Visitors are making decisions about nano that affect their lives and communities.
These skills are transferable to other topics.

8. Why Me? – Schools It’s aligned with national K-12 standards:
Science in personal and social perspectives
History and nature of science
Nano and society is relevant to existing standards, and will probably be even more relevant to the new national standards between developed by the National Research Council.

9. Visitor Conversations
Play “Nano Around the World”
Nano Around the World

10. Three Big Ideas
Watch “Three Big Ideas” video

11. Three Big Ideas 1. Values shape technologies.
2. Technologies affect social relationships.
3. Technologies work because they’re part of systems.
WORKSHEET

12. Values
Values shape technologies are developed and adopted.

13. Relationships
Technologies affect social relationships.

14. Systems
Technologies work because they’re part of systems.

15. Decisions
We make decisions and negotiate with technologies to promote our own values.
These three big ideas empower us to understand how we can—and do—make decisions about technologies every day, and negotiate with them to promote our own values.

16. This presentation is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Award Nos and
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this presentation are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.