LEGO Scanning Probe Microscope
Our Museum Exhibit
Come explore the world of nanotechnology and its applications in today's society! See a
working LEGO replica of a real Scanning Probe Microscope (SPM) and learn how
LEGOs? can be used to teach some of the fundamental principles underlying nano-science.
This traveling exhibit was designed by LSPM Team at Purdue University, in partnership with EPICS, Discovery Park, NSF, and NASA.
It was displayed at the Children's Museum of Oak Ridge April 2 - May 31, 2005.
If you are not able to see this exibit in person, check out our virtual tour.
SPMs are not like traditional microscopes. They can see objects that are millions of times
smaller than those commonly observed by an optical microscope. SPMs "see" by probing nanoscale
objects with a small sharp tip having nanometer size.
SPMs can also manipulate nano-scale objects. Scientists are divising techniques to build nano-devices piece by piece, in ways that are very similar to the construction of complex LEGO landscapes.
Our LEGO SPM is a working model that reproduces the various functions of a research- level instrument. By slowly touching a LEGO surface with a tip, a three-dimensional image can be generated and displayed on a computer. The LEGO SPM effectively deomonstrates how real SPMs provide a window into the nano world.
In addition to the LEGO SPM, the exhibit also uses animations to explain the principles and achievements of nanotechnology to middle school students. Posters provide more detailed information for those with a higher level of interest. SPM images from research labs around the world illustrate the detailed information that SPMs are capable of providing about the nano world.
If you would like to book our exhibit please contact Alicia Goodman