RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – School may be out for the summer but some teachers in our area haven’t stopped working.

This summer seven teachers from North Carolina schools got the chance to participate in the “Research Experience for Teachers Program” put on by NC State, Duke and UNC Chapel Hill.

The program allows teachers to work in labs and learn all about nanotechnology.

Thursday, they got the chance to show off what they learned at a teacher exhibit at NC State’s Plant Science building.

“For them this is a real opportunity for them to really focus on their own knowledge and their own skills and really have an opportunity to work with other scientists,” said Gail Jones, Professor of Science and Education at NC State.

Shane Berry teaches physics at Athens Drive Magnet High School.

This summer he got the chance to work with a number of different microscopes and other technology that allowed him to see small items on a much bigger scale.

“There’s one that’s called the transmitting electron microscope and you can see atoms on it like individual atoms and that’s something that kind of blows your mind,” said Berry.

Teachers also got the chance to work on lesson plans to take back to the classroom.