Disney's Epcot opens third Cornell-developed nanotechnology exhibit

Disney's Epcot theme park
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"Take a Nanooze Break" is now open at Disney's Epcot theme park.

What is too small to see but could be seen by millions? The answer is "Take a Nanooze Break" -- the latest Cornell-developed science exhibit to be displayed at Innoventions at Walt Disney World's Epcot theme park in Florida.

Opened in late February, the exhibit is the third developed at Cornell with support from the National Science Foundation; it will be on display for at least a year.

The exhibit takes its name from the Web site and magazine "Nanooze," created about three years ago to get children excited about science.

"This is a great extension of the Nanooze effort," said Carl Batt, Cornell's Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Food Science and creator of the exhibit. "We can introduce the magazine to kids through a great venue like Innoventions at Epcot, another entirely different audience interested in nanotechnology."

"Take a Nanooze Break" is about nanotechnology and the science of the very small. It features interactive activities that allow visitors to explore common objects at the nanometer scale, and includes large- and small-format digital video to make its content dynamic. For example, hand-held microscopes allow guests to magnify common objects and share them on a large video display.

Two Cornell undergraduate film majors, Caitlin Cowie '11 and Linda Barsi '11, also created visual interpretations of a number of "EarthSky" radio episodes on nanotechnology. The episodes featured such scientists as Norman Scott, Cornell professor of biological and environmental engineering, and George Whitesides from Harvard. These short films will be broadcast at "Take a Nanooze Break" and are part of the dynamic content.

The 1,500-square-foot exhibit was built in Ithaca by Tamarack Design, and such organizations as St. Olaf College, RCSB Protein Data Bank and EarthSky contributed to its design.

 

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