Self Assembly - Keely and Connor learn about self-assembly at the Children's Museum of Houston. The museum staff suggest they visit Rice University, where scientists use self-assembly to make things at the nanoscale. At Rice, a scientist helps the kids use self-assembly to make and "pop" microcapsules. The kids then try out a similar technique at home, encapsulating chocolate sauce, mint and other flavors in alginate beads to serve on ice cream. Bone Regrowth - Kobel, Nathan, and Adam go to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), where they learn that scientists are using nanotechnology to help regenerate nerves and bones. A scientist from Brown University explains that a solution of nanotubes and minerals is injected into the fracture and forms a scaffold to encourage bone regrowth. The kids want to know why both ingredients are needed to repair the bone. They try solutions with different amounts of each ingredient on sponges and test how much weight each treated sponge can support.
