Nanotechnology deals with machines, materials, and structures and their behaviors at the scale of atoms and molecules, or the nanoscale. By working on this scale, scientists are able to create enhanced materials with desirable properties, such as stain-resistance. The authors developed the activity described in this article to introduce middle school students to the everyday applications of nanotechnology, and to give them an opportunity to be real scientists conducting scientific research. The activity challenges students to evaluate a product using detailed observations and experimentation and addresses content from the National Science Education Standards on science inquiry, including designing and conducting a scientific investigation and developing predictions using evidence (NRC 1996). This activity will fit into any unit about atoms and molecules, the nature of science, or inquiry. Although this activity can be completed in one class period, students may learn more from the activity if it is split into two lab days. On the first day, students would perform the initial observation and design their experiments. On the second day, students would carry out their experiments and present their results.