Lab2Class — Science Outreach

This science outreach program brings a university research lab live to middle school and high school classrooms via Zoom connection to researchers on the other end. Middle school and high school students are connected with undergraduate/graduate college students, and with university professors.

The meetings, 30–60 minutes of duration each, are focused on a particular kind of research equipment or a particular experiment. On the other end of Zoom connection, one or several William & Mary student researchers (graduate and/or undergraduate) are in a laboratory, ready to give some explanations and run the instrument, supervised by William & Mary professors. The interactions are interactive, meaning that the students can provide input into what experiment is carried out on the other side. For instance, if the instrument on the other end is an electron microscope, the students can direct which area of the sample is to be investigated, and the students can provide the sample (say, a butterfly), or specify what kind of sample is to be studied. The active/interactive element will distinguish it from learning experiences that are more “passive” in nature.

The activities are designed for a very small resource footprint (time, organization, travel, parking, samples, cost, etc). They are intended require very little preparation time from the side of the teachers and are at no cost. Preparation and time commitment on the university side is also very manageable. This combination makes these activities doable and sustainable.

Ideally, the activity makes a connection to a topic that is covered in the classes. Different “modules” will be developed on the university side that teachers can pick from, according to the students' curriculum, education level, and interest. The following modules have been developed. A number of keywords is provided for the teachers to determine suitability for their classes.

This effort has several goals, such as triggering excitement about the STEM fields in students, giving them additional ideas about possible career paths, and enhancing their classroom learning experiences. For the university researchers, this effort provides an efficient and effective way to generate tangible societal impacts, which is part of their mission, as encouraged by research funding agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a fascination tool to image and study objects from micrometer sizes to molecular and atomic dimensions. This highly technique was first invented in the 1980's as a sister technique to scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), for which Binnig and Rohrer were awarded the Physics Nobel Prize in 1986. In shurt, this technique uses an extremely sharp needle to scan a surface, sense its forces, and then uses this information to construct a 3-dimensional image. Realistic images of many nanoscale objects are possible, including atoms, molecules, viruses, etc.

Connecting topics: Forces, shapes, volumes, areas, orders of magnitude, sizes, units/prefixes, particles, molecules, atoms, nanotechnology

Mechanical testing in this experiment is carried out as “tensile” testing, “3-point bending” or “compression” testing. In these modes, sample is either stretched, bent, or squeezed at a constant rate, which the forces accompanying this deformation are recorded. As a result, a curve is obtained, from which the stiffness, strength, toughness, and breaking strain of the sample are determined.

Connecting topics: Materials, strength, hardness, fatigue, wear & tear, mechanical design, lightweight design, structural engineering, chemical bonding

Optical microscopes can visualize microscopic objects with resolutions about up to 200 nm (0.2 μm) and can be used to study dry or liquid samples. Objects swimming in water can be visualized live and investigated at different magnifications. Different contrasting techniques can highlight different aspects of the sample.

Connecting topics: Light, colors, absorption, light sources, particles, cells, rocks and minerals

The atoms in a molecule are connected through chemical bonds. These bonds are not rigid, so the atoms can move around a little bit by stretching, compressing, or bending the bonds. Accordingly, thermal energy causes all the atoms in a molecule to wiggle around a little bit. When molecules are hit with light pulse, these vibrations can be triggered, causing the molecule to “ring”. Since every type of molecule has a different mixture atoms and bonds of different strength, the vibration pattern — or the mixture of ringing frequencies — is a little bit different. It is as if every molecule made its own characteristic sound. Techniques like Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy use light to trigger the “ringing” in a molecule and analyze the light bouncing off to record its characteristic ringing frequencies. This can be used for “fingerprinting” the molecules, in other words, analyzing substances.

Connecting topics: Chemical analysis, chemical bonding, vibrations, visible & infrared light

Electron microscopy allows imaging many different kinds of samples with almost unlimited resolutions. Students can contribute samples, such as insects, rocks, or metal surfaces. The instruments can be used to zoom in/out very quickly and record beautiful images.

Connecting topics: Sizes, orders of magnitude, sizes, units/prefixes, nanoparticles,

Contact Prof. Schniepp for more information: schniepp@wm.edu