Maybe I should say we hit all of the Targets with our new science products. If you stroll through the toy isles at Target stores, you might stumble across some old Steve Spangler Science classics along with a few brand new science kits. All of these kits are part of our product license agreement with Be Amazing Toys, a Salt Lake City company specializing in hands-on science kits and toys for children who want to learn how to do something amazing. On the shelves at Target you’ll find Blizzard in a Bucket, Fun-damental Science, Water Wizardry, Fire and Ice Mountain, Jungle Quicksand, Insta-Worms, Morphin’ Gators, F/X Snow, Terrific Twisters and the best selling Test Tube Wonders. Thanks to everyone who emailed when they saw our creations at their local Target store.

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Sometimes the simplest experiments I do on television creates the greatest response. My Balloon in the Bottle experiment that aired on Monday was no exception. It’s just an ordinary balloon poked into a soda bottle with the challenge… blow up the balloon in the bottle. Looks easy until you try it. After you’ve mastered secret, you’ll be able to make a water balloon stuck in a bottle… which also looks impossible. So easy but very clever.

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The Christopher Columbus Awards Program combines science and technology with community problem-solving. Students in grades 6-8 work in teams with the help of an adult coach to identify an issue they care about and, using science and technology, work with experts, conduct research, and put their ideas to the test to develop an innovative solution. Eight finalist teams will receive an all-expense paid trip to Walt Disney World to attend National Championship week plus a $200 grant to further develop their ideas. Two gold medal teams will receive a $2000 U.S. Savings Bond and the winning team will receive a $25,000 Columbus Foundation Community Grant. Teams do not need to be affiliated with a school to enter. The application deadline is February 13, 2006. This opportunity is sponsored by the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation in conjunction with The National Science Foundation.

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What are It’s science fair time around the country and my son Jack came home from kindergarten wanting to do a project. We landed an idea and decided to blog his “journey” for the week. Jack’s Science Fair Project is filled with pictures and Quicktime videos showing his daily progress. We created the blog on Saturday February 12th and he told his teacher about it the following Monday. When the principal found out about Jack’s Blog, he contacted the IT specialist at the school district who then sent out notice to all of the elementary schools in the district. The link to the blog spread faster than you could ever imagine. Over 30,000 teachers around the country followed Jack’s progress as we posted his daily measurements for the growing alligators.

This just goes to show you that a science project doesn’t have to be complicated in order to introduce children to the scientific method. Remember… great elementary science projects teach young scientists how to COUNT, COMPARE, CLASSIFY, OBSERVE and MEASURE. Teach children how to share their results in an honest and understandable way and you can’t go wrong.

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Sometimes the simplest ideas are the most powerful ideas. That’s exactly what I discovered when Ken Luna, an 8th grade science teacher in North Babylon, New York, posted a comment on my blog about his project. Here’s the idea… Mr. Luna wants Oprah to help him give every child in America (PreK-12), just one Compact Fluorescent(CFL) bulb to take home and plug into their favorite lamp. You’ve seen these bulbs at the hardware store… those curly fluorescent bulbs that twist into a normal lamp socket. Bottom line - this action could save at least $2.3 billion in electricity costs.

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