Annual Report 2007 - The Australian Nanotechnology Network

YOUNG NANOTECHNOLOGY AMBASSADOR AWARDS
The Young Nanotechnology Ambassador Awards were set up to promote science and science
education in state and territory schools. Two awards are provided per state/territory and each
award is valued up to $2000.
The young nanotechnology ambassadors are required to visit a minimum of four schools
(preferably at least one regional school) to inspire students about nanotechnology, and more
broadly science education. It is up to the ambassadors to decide which schools they visit and to
arrange these visits with the schools. The ambassadors are encouraged to present a talk which
could include visual demonstrations or simple experiments, slide shows or other multimedia
presentations.
The following are the Young Nanoscience Ambassadors for 2007
• New South Wales
Mr. Kenneth Wong (University of New South Wales)
1. What school’s did you visit? What ages were the students you spoke with and how
many students do you think saw your presentation?
Sydney Tech high school, Hurstville public high and primary, St Mary's Star of the Sea Primary,
average class about 20-30 students. High school age was about 15, primary about 11 years of
age.
2. Give an estimate of the number of total kilometers you travelled when visiting schools.
2-3 km.
3. What was the topic of your presentation? And how did you go about structuring your
presentation? Were there any demonstrations or hands-on activities used?
Topic was what is nanotechnology, what is real what is not and why is it important. Provided
some samples from university that has potential applications to real products, coatings, particles
etc. Had some videos showing what nanotechnology is to give students a better grasp how
nanotech was originated and what it is. The videos were chosen flow with the presentation
topic. There was demonstrations of biosensors, superhydrophobic coatings, and magnetic
nanoparticles.
4. What worked well in your presentation?
Multimedia - pictures and videos, less words. Stimulated the student’s imagination more than
me just talking from dot points on PowerPoint. The videos did best with making them more
imaginative/creative, which also helped alot with making them ask more questions.
5. Was there anything that didn’t work well with the school students? And are there any
lessons you learnt that might be helpful for the next you talk to school students or the
general public about
science?
Just don't get too technical, keep it simple with lots of pictures. They don't understand alot of the
terms. More real world examples from univeristy. There was a whole rush a of students once i
said i had something to show, and if you tell them that before the start of the presentation then
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