Design of Physical Games for Learning the Lotus Effect

The lotus effect is a learning topic of nanoscience commonly seen in elementary schools. However, nanostructures cannot be observed with naked eyes or using general microscopes. Lacking interactive operating environments, it is not easy to inspire students to explore nanophenomena. This study used virtual reality (VR) technology to develop two physical games, namely "Water Drop in the Maze" and "Cleaning the Dust", to show the macroscopic and microscopic structures of lotus leaves respectively. Students can control the rolling direction of water drop by the 3-axis accelerometers in smart phones or tablet PCs to complete the missions, and observe the hydrophobic effect and self-cleaning effect of the lotus as well the as the scales of water drops, dust and the nanostructure on the surface of lotus leaves. A teaching experiment was conducted and the results showed the learning achievement of using physical games to learn the lotus effect was significantly higher than that of using instructional video. The questionnaire results also revealed that most students thought the physical games could enhance their motivation and interest in learning the lotus effect.