March 30 – April 7, 2013 is the week set aside for NanoDays activities as per the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISENet) meaning that many museums and science centres in the US will be hosting special ‘nano-themed’ activities.  From NISENet’s  The Nano Bite January 2013 newsletter,

NanoDays 2013, March 30-April 7

→ NanoDays 2013 Physical Kits Have Shipped!
The NanoDays 2013 Physical Kits have been shipped to all partners awarded one. Click Here for more details on what is included in the 2013 Physical Kit and to find the many materials available for promoting your event and preparing staff for the activities.

→ NanoDays 2013 Digital Kit is Available
If you did not receive a 2013 Physical Kit, the NanoDays 2013 Digital Kit is available for download by anyone. The 2013 Digital Kit has the files for instructions, lesson plans, supply lists, marketing materials, and multimedia files for the NanoDays 2013 activities.

→ Promoting Your NanoDays Event
The NISE Network offers many materials that you may find useful to promote your event: logos, photos, ads, press releases, promotional videos, and website icons. Links to all NISE Network promotional materials are available here: http://www.nisenet.org/PRmaterials

There is a new program which offers NISENet members the opportunity to discuss matters of interest in an ‘informal’ online discussion,

→ Online Brown-Bag Conversations

The NISE Network is launching a series of online brown-bag conversations focused on helping NISE Network partners share their work and learn from others in the Network. The aim of the online brown-bag conversations is to increase the number of professional development opportunities available to NISE Net partners, create more channels for Network partners to learn from each other directly, and create ways for partners to follow-up on ideas or efforts that emerge at in-person meetings. You can find details for all of the NISE Network’s online brown-bag conversations on the nisenet.org events page. Details and sign-up links for the first set of conversations are below:

• The Science Behind NanoDays Activities – February 12, 2013, 1-2 pm Eastern Time: Are you interested in learning more about the science behind the Nanodays activities and/or applications of the research topics covered in the NanoDays kit? Do you want to know more about how the Nanodays kits are related to cutting-edge research currently taking place in labs around the world? Then please join us for an exciting discussion and Q&A. Feel free to bring your questions and we will try our best to answer them!
 For more details and to sign up for this conversation, please go to: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1133797/The-Science-Behind-NanoDays-Activities-Part-1-2-12-13
• Bust Out the Tablet for NanoDays! Mobile Devices and Nanotechnology Conversations – Tuesday, March 5, 2013, 1-2 pm Eastern Time: If you’re using mobile devices on the museum floor and you’re holding a NanoDays event, why not combine the two!?  For this brown-bag, we’ll discuss ways to supplement and extend visitor interactions about nano using a mobile device like an iPad. We will discuss nano apps, facilitation strategies, and unconventional uses of mobile devices to reach your audience about nano. If you already use mobile devices for nano, we will also have time for you to share! For more details and to sign up for this conversation, please go to: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1141410/Bust-Out-the-Tablet-for-NanoDays-Mobile-Devices-and-Nanotechnology-Conversations-3-5-13
• The Science Behind NanoDays Activities – Part Two – Tuesday, March 19, 2-3 pm Eastern Time: Please join us for a second discussion of the science behind NanoDays activities. More details will be posted to: http://www.nisenet.org/community/events/online_workshop/online_brown-bag_conversation_science_behind_nanodays_activities_-_ after the first Science Behind NanoDays discussion listed above.

You can find the full newsletter here and, as always, I’m ending with the Nano Haiku,

Buckeyball magnet
Not really nano at all
Don’t swallow this toy

This sage advice in haiku form comes to us from Keith Ostfeld, of the Children’s Museum of Houston.

This seems to be a reference to a legal suit in the US involving a toy company that produces spherical magnets for toys they call Buckyballs and Buckycubes. Children and teenagers have swallowed the magnets, which have rare earths in them, requiring surgery and there’s more about all this in my July 30, 2012 posting.