New Exhibition Brings Nano to the Masses 

Marquee banner for the Take a Nanooze Break exhibition. Courtesy of Carl Batt, Cornell

A new long-term exhibition is bringing visitors face to face with the nanoworld. The exhibition, Take a Nanooze Break, features a series of interactive, continually updated displays that allow visitors to manipulate models of molecules, study everyday items at the nanoscale, and interact with scientists and engineers who conduct the latest nano research.

“The experience is immersive and gives guests a number of ways to view a world that is too small to see,” says Carl Batt of Cornell University, the lead researcher for the project. “It also gives guests a view of nanotechnology from real scientists”

Based upon the National Science Foundation (NSF)-supported children’s magazine and Web site Nanooze, the exhibition, which opened on February 22, 2010, was developed with further NSF support by collaborators from Cornell University and Tamarack Design of Ithaca, N.Y. It is housed at INNOVENTIONS at Epcot, a part of the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, FL.

“Nanotechnology will bring multiple, fundamental changes to the way we work to create goods, develop sustainable approaches, advance medicine and improve quality of life.,” says Mike Roco, senior advisor for nanotechnology at NSF. “About $80 billion worth of products incorporated nanoscale components in the United States in 2010, and one can envision mass use of nanotechnology by 2020. The Nanooze exhibition informs and inspires the public about this fast-arriving future society.”