Nanotechnology and the Modern School

Abstract

The advancement of human civilization is closely tied to the development of new materials, and the modern era is the era of nanomaterials, which - owing to their unique physical and chemical properties - are capable of radically transforming today’s world. Although nanotechnologies have already found practical application across many fields, for most people they still belong to the realm of science fiction. Their significance will only grow: the research and development they demand, and the search for new areas of application, will fall to today’s schoolchildren. An essential precondition for this is the intensified integration of the foundations of nanotechnological science into school and university curricula. Nanotechnology is a particularly challenging subject to teach. It is not a traditional discipline but a symbiosis of physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, engineering, and technology. Even so, it represents a promising field that fosters students’ interest in the natural and technical sciences, and teachers of these sciences are best placed to awaken that interest among beginners. The aim of this work is to overcome the psychological barrier that hinders the broad preparation of children to comprehend nanotechnology, guided by the premise that the future belongs to it. The paper discusses classroom activities designed to help students understand nanotechnology and prepare for further study, so that they may become well-rounded, creative professionals. The arguments offered here are necessarily brief; fuller treatment is left to future work.