Dragonflytv

Gecko Feet/Nasturtium Leaves

Season 7, Episode 4 of 6

Gecko Feet - Jennifer and Nooshin like rock climbing. They wonder how some lizards can climb rocks so easily. They visit the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley and compare the climbing ability of different lizards. They notice that the best climbers are geckos. They visit a lab at the University of California Berkeley to find out why, learning that special, nanoscale hairs on gecko feet are the secret to their amazing climbing abilities. Nasturtium Leaves - Jasmine and Melinda wonder why water beads up on some plants and not others. They head to San Francisco's Exploratorium, where they learn that surfaces at the nanoscale aren't always smooth, and that nano hairs on nasturtium leaves cause them to be water repellent. The girls collect other plants with hairy leaves and test their ability to repel water. They take some samples to Stanford University for up-closing imaging and compare the structure of nasturtium leaves to water-resistant fabric.

Previously Aired

Day
Time
Channel
1/18/2009
3 p.m.
7/26/2009
3 p.m.
11/17/2012
3 p.m.
11/18/2012
9:30 a.m.
2/16/2013
3 p.m.
2/17/2013
9:30 a.m.
1/4/2014
3 p.m.
1/5/2014
9:30 a.m.
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