MICRO is the Materials Initiative for Comprehensive Research Opportunity created to provide a remote research and education experience to undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds. This site includes mentoring resources and online materials science curriculum provided for self-study in the program.

This is a lithograph about NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission, or MMS. Learners will cut out and assemble a colorful 3D model of an MMS spacecraft. Web links, additional facts, and QR codes are included for audiences to access more information.

This is a task neutral proficiency scale for MS-ETS1-1. Resources used to make this: NGSS.NSTA.org, Appendix E from the NextGenScience site and the actual performance expectations. This scale was created through collaboration with four middle school teachers. Note: Proficiency scales assume learning progression.

This course covers fundamental and advanced techniques in this field at the intersection of computer vision, computer graphics, and geometric deep learning. It will lay the foundations of how cameras see the world, how we can represent 3D scenes for artificial intelligence, how we can learn to reconstruct these representations from only a single image, how we can guarantee certain kinds of generalizations, and how we can train these models in a self-supervised way.

In this activity, learners explore the "nuts and bolts" of gene chips. Learners construct a simple model of a DNA microarray (also known as gene chips) and learn how microarrays can be used to identify and treat disease--including cancer. This resource includes references and an explanation of microarrays.

A magical demonstration where a Pyrex tube vanishes in a beaker of mineral oil. Useful demonstration to introduce to concept of refraction (and/or partial reflection).

Students visualize the magnetic field of a strong permanent magnet using a compass. The lesson begins with an analogy to the effect of the Earth's magnetic field on a compass. Students see the connection that the compass simply responds to the Earth's magnetic field since it is the closest, strongest field, and thus the compass responds to the field of the permanent magnets, allowing them the ability to map the field of that magnet in the activity. This information will be important in designing a solution to the grand challenge in activity 4 of the unit.

Students begin working on the grand challenge of the unit by thinking about the nature of metals and quick, cost-effective means of separating different metals, especially steel. They arrive at the idea, with the help of input from relevant sources, to use magnets, but first they must determine if the magnets can indeed isolate only the steel.

Students explore the basic magnetic properties of different substances, particularly aluminum and steel. There is a common misconception that magnets attract all metals, largely due to the ubiquity of steel in metal products. The activity provides students the chance to predict, whether or not a magnet will attract specific items and then test their predictions. Ultimately, students should arrive at the conclusion that iron (and nickel if available) is the only magnetic metal.

This video from KET traces the energy transformations that occur when coal is burned to produce electricity. Some of the mechanical processes are also described.

Students create large-scale models of microfluidic devices using a process similar to that of the PDMS and plasma bonding that is used in the creation of lab-on-a-chip devices. They use disposable foam plates, plastic bendable straws and gelatin dessert mix. After the molds have hardened overnight, they use plastic syringes to inject their model devices with colored fluid to test various flow rates. From what they learn, students are able to answer the challenge question presented in lesson 1 of this unit by writing individual explanation statements.

In this solar oven lesson plan, students will learn about renewable energy by constructing their own solar ovens using simple materials like cardboard boxes, aluminum foil, and plastic wrap. They will explore the science behind solar energy, including how sunlight can be converted into heat energy to cook food. The activity will involve assembling the ovens, placing food items like s'mores inside, and observing the cooking process under direct sunlight. Through hands-on experimentation, students will gain an understanding of the environmental benefits of solar energy and its practical applications.

In this engaging lesson plan, students will dive into the principles of engineering and structural design as they construct spaghetti bridges. They will learn basic principles of structure and stability while working in teams to design and build their bridges using simple materials. Through a fun and friendly contest, students will test their creations to see which bridge can hold the most weight. This hands-on activity promotes teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving skills in a playful and educational environment suitable for young learners.

Graph theory is a visual way to represent relationships between objects. One of the simplest uses of graph theory is a family tree that shows how different people are related. Another application is social networks like Facebook, where a network of "friends" and their "friends" can be represented using graphs. Students learn and apply concepts and methods of graph theory to analyze data for different relationships such as friendships and physical proximity. They are asked about relationships between people and how those relationships can be illustrated. As part of the lesson, students are challenged to find the social graph of their friends. This prepares students for the associated activity during which they simulate and analyze the spread of disease using graph theory by assuming close proximity to an infected individual causes the disease to spread.

This is an activity about 3-D imagery. Learners can follow the instructions to create their own 3-D images using a digital camera, photo editing software, and red-blue 3-D glasses.

This article features children's literature about mammals and the mammals that live in the polar regions.

This lesson will discuss the details for a possible future manned mission to Mars. The human risks are discussed and evaluated to minimize danger to astronauts. A specialized launch schedule is provided and the different professions of the crew are discussed. Once on the surface, the crew's activities and living area will be covered, as well as how they will make enough fuel to make it off the Red Planet and return home.

Spreadsheets Across the Curriculum Module. Students build spreadsheets to estimate discharge for a culvert using the Manning equation, and to estimate culvert size, given a specified discharge.

The purpose of the resource is to produce a land cover type map from hard copies of Landsat satellite images.

This is an activity about magnetism. Using bar magnets, classroom materials, and a compass, learners will explore how bar magnets interact with one another and with other materials, use a compass to find the direction north, and use various materials to make magnetic field lines visible around a bar magnet. This is an activity in a larger poster resource, entitled The Sun Like It's Never Been Seen Before: In 3D.