Parents' Guide to DIY Nano

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Common Sense Media Review

Dana Anderson By Dana Anderson , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 8+

Spark big interest in tiny things on this super science app.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 8+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

Privacy Rating Warning

  • Personal information is not sold or rented to third parties.
  • Personal information is not shared for third-party marketing.
  • Unclear whether this product displays personalised advertising.
  • Unclear whether data are collected by third-parties for their own purposes.
  • Unclear whether this product uses a user's information to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
  • Unclear whether this product creates and uses data profiles for personalised advertisements.

What's It About?

Kids can tap on well-categorized, labeled videos to watch them (each just a few minutes long), or choose from 15 activities or experiments on DIY NANO. The activities and experiments each include a materials list (some items may be more complicated to acquire and messier than others), instructions, and detailed explanations of why they do what they do. Kids can also visit Whatisnano.org from within the app for even more nanotechnology-related information. Through email or AirPrint, users can share a PDF of an activity.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say : Not yet rated
Kids say : Not yet rated

Kids can gain real enthusiasm for all things nano by watching the informative, sometimes funny, videos and doing the activities on DIY Nano. This ingenious, uncluttered, easy-to-use app can help kids understand how tiny things act differently and can be very helpful to humans and nature in ways that are so much easier to understand than one would think of words like "nanotechnology engineering." From videos about nanocoatings and talking about a billionth of a meter to experiments about how gummy shapes are built via chemistry, this app is hugely interesting. The only small critique is that many of the ingredients or tools needed for the experiments aren't typically found in the average home. Still, DIY Nano is simply an excellent app about a complex topic for kids of a wide age span.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Help your kids choose the experiment or activity that looks most interesting to them and then gather the necessary ingredients, objects, and tools.

  • Reinforce the messages of how tiny things can change our everyday lives by pointing out nanotechnology in everyday items, like cooking, sports, or art materials.

App Details

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