Modeling Self Assembly (High School)

There are two activities in this lesson, the Fly Prison and the Water Maze. The Fly Prison is a hands-on modeling activity designed to introduce students to nanotechnology and give them a basic understanding of how researchers build very small devices by the self-assembly of molecules. The water maze is a follow-up activity to give the students a chance to practice and demonstrate what they have learned. The lesson uses commonly available materials to simulate assembling on a silicon wafer.