Nanotechnology Expo

By Annika Swenson
Going into this project, I was skeptical as to how well I could present microarray and nanotechnology information to the public. But within this past week, I learned more about microarrays than I did all year long in my cellular biology and genetics courses.
The NanoExpo was a huge success in my eyes, and I was so glad to be a part of it. My exploration station consisted of a 3' x 8 ' table in the new Engineering Centers building with
  1. A microarray poster, using E. coli as an example, showing all three various types of microarrays — spotted, Affymetrix, and Nimblegen™
  2. A 3'x4' pegboard to illustrate the idea of a microarray
  3. Three real microarray chips that Sandra Splinter and John Luecke at the the Gene Expression Center gave me to have on display, which the public really loved to see and breathe on to see the features on the slide;
  4. Tom Zinnen's teaching analogy using the colorful legos, which I used to show how microarrays are made. These worked well when I did the example with Nimbelgen (maskless array) and Affymetrix (using masks)
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microarrays

(Click on image for printable handout)

At the table next to me was the Center for Nanotechnology, and Don Thielman was the person presenting there. He had masks on his table, so I was able to tell people, "okay, if you go look over there, you can see a mask similar to what is used with Affymetrix arrays." So, that was really helpful!
I also had several handouts for the public to take. I made a 8.5" x 11" handout of the poster, a spreadsheet comparing the three types of chips, and the DNA tube handout, as well as DNA tubes.
On the day of the expo, I was there at 7 AM and set up fairly early. The setup process was very similar to the Science Expeditions held at Engineering Hall. The only thing I would have different about the NanoExpo is to have nametags for everyone, and possibly a sign stating where each table is from.
From about nine to noon, it was nonstop people at the table. I spoke with a lot of teachers (most likely k-12), as well as some professors and educators from MATC, Milwaukee School of Engineering, and UW-Milwaukee. Many really loved the teaching analogy using the legos. What I found to be REALLY exciting was seeing families that I had met during the Science Expeditions event held at Biotech. There were some kids that would say, "I remember doing micropipettes with you!" So it's nice to know we have repeats even at different events.
There were two cameramen recording the event as well, and I know I made it onto the Channel 3 news at 5 pm that Saturday night. There's also a good article on the engineering website about how the expo was a success. anninanotv

(Click on image for Quicktime movie)

Looking back on the whole thing, I'm really glad I did it. Not only did I get to talk a lot with Sandra Splinter about microarrays, but I learned a lot about it, and was able to share it with at least a hundred visitors at the expo.