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Education Programs |
"Build a Buckyball" Workshop
| Since 2004, the Education
Programs staff at the Materials Research Laboratory
(MRL) has presented a "Build your own Buckyball" activity to school groups
visiting
the UCSB campus. The activity is based on a molecular model kit of the
Carbon-60 molecule first developed by Sir Harry Kroto, who shared the 1996
Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of the Buckminsterfullerene (Buckyball), to provide K-12 students with a
hands-on way to share in the discovery of the structure of this unique
molecule. |
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Students, ranging from elementary to early high school, are given a brief
PowerPoint introduction focused on Materials science and the scale of the
nanometer, different forms of carbon and the relationship between molecular
structure and material properties.
As part of the workshop, students build their own six-inch Buckyball models with instruction
by UCSB graduate student volunteers. The workshop takes approximately one hour to complete
but is flexible enough to adapt to different environments
including summer programs, school year classrooms, after-school programs and
special events.
For more information on the workshop please contact our education director
Dorothy Pak .
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