2,000 K-12 students to attend Purdue's NanoDays

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Thinking small will be the focus for nearly 2,000 elementary, middle school and high school students attending a two-day event on nanotechnology at Purdue University.

The school's Birck Nanotechnology Center will host its NanoDays 2012 on April 26-27 to help students gain a deeper understanding of nanotechnology. The theme of the event is the “Biggest Event for the Smallest Science.” Nanotechnology is the ability to measure, manipulate and manufacture objects between 1 and 100 nanometers in size. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter; a human hair is roughly 100,000 nanometers in diameter.

Birck spokesman Jeff Goecker says the goal is for people of all ages to learn the basic concepts of nanotechnology in a fun and visually exciting environment.

Purdue faculty will give lectures.