March 24 – April 1, 2012 has been earmarked for NanoDays 2012 in the US. The Nannoscale Informal Science Education Network (NISE Net) is accepting applications for its NanoDays 2012 kits. From the Oct. 5, 2011 posting by Catherine McCarthy on the NISE Net blog,

There are two forms of kits: physical and digital. They contain content and instructions on the same set of activities. You can apply online for a physical kit from now until December 8, or download a digital version of the kit after January 15, 2012. Two hundred and twenty-five (225) physical kits will be distributed for NanoDays 2012.

• Physical kits are designed for informal science educational institutions (such as museums and research center outreach programs) within the United States. To apply for a physical kit, go to www.nisenet.org/nanodays and follow the directions for the online application due by December 8, 2011. Applications will be reviewed and you will be notified of your kit status in late December, 2011. Applications include a description of your planned events or activities during the NanoDays week; strong applications will include plans for using the NanoDays kit during the rest of the year. A PDF of the online application is attached for reference; however, applications should be submitted online using Survey Gizmo.  Direct  link to the Survey Gizmo online application.

• Digital kits are free, downloadable materials available to anyone who registers on nisenet.org. The digital version of the kit is designed particularly for international locations outside the United States, K-12 educators, libraries, and other educational organizations. Many of the activities use inexpensive, readily available supplies. Digital kits will be available for free download after January 15, 2012 at www.nisenet.org/nanodays. You do not need to fill out an application for a digital kit; however, you do need to have a profile on nisenet.org and log in to download these resources.

There are a couple of postdoc positions at the Center for Nanotechnology in Society, University of California at Santa Barbara,

CNS-UCSB Seeks Postdoctoral Researchers to Explore Nanotechnology’s Societal Impacts
The Center for Nanotechnology in Society at the University of California, Santa Barbara is recruiting 1-2 postdoctoral researchers to join their Interdisciplinary Research Groups. Positions begin as early as January, 2012. Please visit http://www.cns.ucsb.edu/education/postdocs for position details and application procedures.

A new girl scout badge has prompted a Nano Haiku,

Forget jazzercise
Scouts leave the 80s behind
Girls need nano now

Former Girl Scout and current member of the NISE Net, Anna Lindgren-Streicher of the Museum of Science, Boston shared the above haiku in response to the USA Today story New Badges Get Girl Scouts Prepared for 21st Century. Of particular interest to nano-enthusiasts: “Gone is 1987’s Fashion, Fitness and Makeup badge; in its place, a Science of Style badge has girls explore use of nanotechnology in fabrics and the chemistry of sunscreens.”

Here’s a little more from the New Badges Get Girl Scouts Prepared for 21st Century article was written (Oct. 11, 2011) by Michelle Healy,

“This is the first major update (of badges) at every level since 1987,” says Alisha Niehaus of Girl Scouts of the USA. “We kept some favorites but added new ones that will help girls build the leadership skills they’ll need for success in the 21st century.”

Gone is 1987’s Fashion, Fitness and Makeup badge; in its place, a Science of Style badge has girls explore use of nanotechnology in fabrics and the chemistry of sunscreens.

Other new badges are on financial literacy, public policy and website design. And to help girls master skills needed to tough it out in a sometimes crazy world, there’s the Science of Happiness badge. Developed in conjunction with “positive psychology” researcher Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania, it helps “teach girls how to find happiness in their own lives,” Niehaus says.

You can find out more about NISE Net here.