Presentation Submission for NEW 2011
Deb Newberry
Dakota County Technical College
1300 145th St E, Rosemount MN 55068
Director/PI, Nano-Link Regional Center for Nanotechnology Education
Deb.newberry@dctc.edu, 651 423 8328
Crystals – Hard or Soft, Simple or Complex: Activities, Experiments and Applications for Multiple
Grade Levels, Science Arenas and Market Segments
Keyword: Crystals, nanotechnology, atomic arrangement, properties
Various crystal structures are found in everything from engagement rings to electronic devices and from
display screens to plasmonic devices. Through recent developments in nanoscience, researchers can
now understand how various crystal structures result in significantly different properties and
applications. The variety of crystal structures and their applications make the study of crystals a
valuable component of an educator’s library of lessons. The lessons can be easily adapted for various
grade levels, and technical/scientific disciplines. This session will provide some hands on experience
with developed activities as well as explore the variations among experiments and educational content.
Objective: Describe, discuss and experience the various ways that crystal centered lecture materials,
experiments and classroom activities can be used to convey concepts of atomic and molecular structure,
chemical bonding, light interactions with materials and application scenarios.
To provide a set of education content that can be used in total or piecemeal and can be adapted
to multiple grade levels and purposes.
Grade level: This material was originally created for community college level students in nanoscience
programs. Since that time documentation and activities have been added to the original material which
expands the content applicability with regard to grade level and class focus.
Time Required: Because of the adaptability of this material the content can be covered in as short of a
time as 50 minutes to multiple class and lab periods taking 4 hours or so.
Degree Tested: All components of this suite of activities and materials have been tested at multiple
community colleges and has been used for multiple years in high school student outreach activities, such
as summer camps.