Geckos—those kid-friendly lizards that can scamper up walls and hang by one toe from the ceiling—are helping LHS and PBS DragonflyTV teach audiences about nanotechnology, the science of the very, very, very small. Inspired by the Hall’s groundbreaking NanoZone exhibit and nanotech research at UC Berkeley, DragonflyTV and LHS staff collaborated to produce a science episode about gecko toes.
Splitting Hairs takes viewers first inside one of the Hall’s most popular attractions, the Animal Discovery Room. With help from LHS Animal Specialist Alondra Blandon, the episode’s tween hosts meet several species of live geckos and chart their different climbing abilities. Next, the hosts enter the NanoZone for a one-of-a-kind, hands-on experience in how gecko feet cling and peel without suction cups or gluey secretions.
Then off to the Berkley campus, where the show hosts learn from pioneering researchers how a gecko toes are adapted for the animal’s survival. Integrative biologist Bob Full shows how millions of nanosized split ends on a gecko’s toe hairs create forces to let the toes quickly stick on or peel off. Engineer Ron Fearing demonstrates how this nanotech in nature is translating into new, human-made products like superstrong tape that gets stronger under increased weight but still peels off easily.
From inception to filming, LHS Center for Technology Innovation Director Darrell Porcello worked closely with Twin Cities Public Television Science Specialist Lisa Regalla and Associate Producer Jo Young to write and finetune the episode, which aired on KCSM-TV and public TV stations nationwide.
"LHS staff are big fans of how DragonflyTV spotlights true investigations by kids,” Porcello noted. “So of course we jumped at the chance to work with them on one all about the connections to nanotechnology at the Hall!"
The episode is one of several on nanotechnology produced in collaboration with leading science museums across the country. Check out the DragonflyTV website at http://pbskids.org/dragonflytv for more info.