20 Mar Students explore how tiny tools can answer big questions

Students get hands-on and discover that science often yields surprising results.

Necedah Elementary students ranging from 3rd to 5th grade attended a field trip to the Discovery Building this month as part of their Cardinal After-school Program.

Led by the Morgridge Community Engagement team, the trip featured an activity called “Tiny Tunnels.” Through hands-on exploration, the students discovered how micro-scale devices can be used to answer big questions.

Students learned the basics of fluid mechanics, and how water behaves differently in a large device versus a microscale device. Understanding these devices allows researchers to build new tools to conduct experiments, medical tests and more in compact devices that only require small samples.

Check out the action and learn more in the photos here.