Engineering Nanomaterials (Graphene) Field Trip

This field trip is part of a larger, ongoing, collaborative program between the University of Wisconsin (UW) Materials Research Science Engineering Center (MRSEC) and the education/outreach team at Discovery, also known as the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery. Since 2012, K-12 students from Wisconsin and Northern Illinois schools visit Discovery throughout the academic year and participate in hands-on experiments during field trips in state-of-the-art facilities. The Discovery education/outreach team has a commitment to bring students from across Wisconsin and beyond to the UW campus. The field trips are held in the teaching laboratories in Discovery which are identical to the research laboratories in the building and designated for outreach/education activities. The teaching labs also contain instrumentation, such as a Raman spectrometer, that are used by researchers across campus and can be reserved for field trips as well. Teachers apply to bring students to Discovery for a field trip and have the option of selecting between several different science topics. During the field trips, students typically participate in at least two different activities during their time on campus. The UW MRSEC provides all of the materials science and engineering content in the Discovery field trip program. For this report, the field trip visitors were high school students from Capitol High School in Madison, WI which is comprised primarily of students from backgrounds underrepresented in STEM fields. During the field trip, they had the opportunity to synthesize the nanomaterial, graphene, by chemical vapor deposition. The graphene synthesis experiment is typically run only with high school students and upper middle school students due to its complexity and the use of fire and syringe needles. Field trips covering other topics (ex. Liquid Crystals, Size and Scale) are more suited to younger students. During the graphene field trip, students worked in small groups to synthesize graphene on nickel foil by chemical vapor deposition (see J. Chem. Ed. paper in reference section for complete protocol). While the synthesis was occurring, students learned about graphene, including how it was discovered, what properties it has, and why it’s an important material. Once the synthesis was finished, the students used Raman spectroscopy to analyze their samples to determine whether the synthesis was successful. The UW MRSEC has been involved in the field trip program since 2012 running ~20 field trips each year for over 350 K-12 students throughout Wisconsin. The graphene field trip was run twice (back-to-back) with 9th and 10th grade students. There were 10 students in the first group and 11 students in the second (95% underrepresented minority students in both groups). The field trip is evaluated by students after the visit using a survey administered by students’ teacher. The survey asks about the overall experience, whether the teacher has discussed the field trip with students after the experience, what the students said about the experience, how it fits into the classroom content, and what, if any, support we can provide the teacher in the future. A major advantage of the field trip program is that students from all backgrounds are exposed to the experience regardless of their background, economic status, or self-identified interest in science. Many of the students would not have the opportunity visit the UW campus on their own or with family, but because all students in the school attend the field trip students who do not typically visit the campus and experience this type of science content are exposed to new STEM experiences. Other outreach programs, that are optional to attend, would not have reached those students. Due to the limited time for each field trip, the students were only able to complete one experimental condition. With more time, students could attempt additional conditions and the analyses that are described in the referenced paper. However, given the limitation of the average school day, a 70-minute field trip works best for most teachers. Over time, the graphene field trip has been repeated multiple times and its success can depend upon the level of engagement by the students and their teacher