At the root of scientific study are observations made with the eyes; yet in nanoscience, our eyes fail us. The smallest object we can see still looms thousands of times larger than a typical nano-sized structure. Even the most powerful microscopes can't peer into the nanoscale directly. That's why nanoscale experiments offer such great opportunities to teach blind and visually impaired students about science and pique their interest in the field, says Andrew Greenberg, education and outreach coordinator for the University of Wisconsin-Madison Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center (NSEC) and the Institute for Chemical Education.

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