Teaching nanoscience to the blind
Nanoscale objects are much too small for us to see them. So, according to educators at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, nanotechnology is a research field where blind students and sighted ones are equal. After all, “we’re all blind at the nanoscale,” says a member of the educational team. They’ve built 3-D models of nano-surfaces which can be explored with the hands. These plaster models, which are several inches long — even if the structures they represent are millions times smaller — replicate an earlier version of ‘NanoBucky,’ a nanoscale version of the UW-Madison mascot, Bucky Badger. The goal of this project is to encourage blind and visually impaired students to pursue science, technology and engineering. read story