After two straight days of demonstrating the Spangler Geyser Tube at the New York Toy Fair, my voice is gone. All in all, we launched over 500 two-liter bottles of diet soda in the giant plastic tubes to demonstrate how a science experiment turned into an Internet sensation… which lead to the creation of a new toy.

Prior to my voice disappearing, I spoke with Greg Sandoval, Staff Writer at CNET News.com, about toying with the Mentos and Diet Coke experiment.

Popularity: 20% [?]

One of the highlights of Toy Fair every year is meeting up with our good friend, Chris Byrne, the Toy Guy. Over the past 25 years, Chris has spent some part of every day playing with new toys-not a bad job, if you stop to think about it. He’s the guy the insiders turn to find out what’s hot and what’s not in the toy industry. When Chris is in Denver, we invite him to share his latest toy finds with our viewers at KUSA-TV (NBC). During Toy Fair each year, we pull Chris away from the trade show floor and send a live feed back to Denver. Right before we went on-air, Chris turned to his production assistant and wanted her to find him a bottle of Diet Coke so he could launch a Mentos Geyser during the segment. I only had ten seconds to convince him that the mess wouldn’t be worth the wow-factor (and no one had a change of clothes).

Chris stopped by the Be Amazing! booth to check out the flying soda.

Popularity: 8% [?]

The opening day at Toy Fair was amazingly busy for those companies who had cool science product, according to a staff writer from CNET News.com. Caroline McCarthy writes, “Amid the madness of the 2007 American International Toy Fair here, a somewhat unexpected trend was visible: apparently, science rules.” Caroline stopped by the booth yesterday to ask a few questions about our new Geyser Tube toy and, more importantly about general trends in science education. She points out some very interesting observations in her article - teachers should read this.

Despite the perpetual debate over whether the United States is losing ground in raising the world’s best scientists, today’s pop-culture climate is remarkably conducive to making science trendy. The ubiquity of science kits and gadgets at the Toy Fair made me wonder–is science actually cool now?

Even YouTube has its influence. Be Amazing, a toy company that specializes in chemistry sets and licensed products from Steve Spangler Science, was drawing massive crowds with its demonstration of a “geyser” apparatus that allows kids to replicate the Diet Coke and Mentos experiments that have resulted in an explosive (literally) viral video sensation.

There’s no doubt that science products were the talk of Toy Fair this year. In just the first two days of the show, we gave away more than a thousand geyser test tube experiments for people to test out at home. That’s a lot of Diet Coke flying through the air.

Popularity: 23% [?]

Our new Geyser Tube toy made it’s first public appearance at the Toy Fair in New York this morning. If you’ve ever tried to do the Mentos Geyser experiment, you know that it’s tough to a handful of Mentos candies into the bottle of soda before it starts to erupt. The Geyser Tube is a trigger device that holds a stack of Mentos candies directly above the opening of the bottle. Just pull the pin and the Mentos instantly drop into the soda and the soda geyser shoots up through the nozzle at the top of the tube.

Over the past year, we’ve come up with many ways The Geyser Tube attaches to the top of any 2-liter bottle and holdsof sodatrigger device that suspends a stack of Mentos candy above the open bottle of soda. When you pull the pin, the Mentos drop and the erupting soda is funneled updevice that holds

Steve Spangler, a science editor for a Colorado TV station and a toy maker on the side, this week demonstrated his “Geyser Tube” at the Toy Fair in New York. His toy is a plastic tube that can hold nine Mentos candies. A pin holds the candy in place while the tube is screwed to the top of the soda bottle. The opposite end is a narrow opening that acts like a nozzle.

A string is attached to the pin and when pulled, the Mentos plop to the bottom of the bottle, triggering the reaction. The Geyser Tube retails for $4.95 and can be purchased online at Stevespanglerscience.com.

Popularity: 15% [?]

Who said mixing Mentos and Diet Coke was only an outdoor only sport? When the show management at the Javits Center found out that I wanted to launch 2-liter soda geysers on the floor of the trade show at Toy Fair, they responded with a New York “no way”. The solution was to build 18 foot clear plastic tubes to contain the eruption. That’s the first hurdle. Now all we need to do is to move 480 bottles of diet soda into the Be Amazing Toys booth. The show opens in less than 12 hours.

Popularity: 17% [?]

Cynthia Palmer, a very dynamic 5th grade science teacher from Franklin Road Academy, called this morning to share the great news. Her student, Grayson Rosenberger, just won the Bubble Wrap® Competition for Young Inventors. Mrs. Palmer first learned about the contest from our blog post on September 14, 2006. The Bubble Wrap Competition for Young Inventors invited young scientists to exercise their creativity in developing an invention that incorporates Bubble Wrap cushioning.

Listen to the Interview

During our phone call this morning, Cynthia Palmer said, “We’ve got the Today Show here… lots of people are calling… and we’re so proud and excited. Grayson not only won a contest, but he came up with something that will change people’s lives. Who says having fun is not important?!”

The 15-year-old student from Franklin Road Academy in Nashville, Tennessee used Bubble Wrap brand packing material to develop a cost-effective cosmetic skin covering for prosthetic limbs. Later this year, Grayson will visit Ghana with his parents to fit some patients with his low-cost invention.

Grayson received $10,000 in savings bonds as well as a trip to New York, where the Grand Prize Winner will be announced on Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day - January 29, 2007. If you’re science teacher, you should be arguing that Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day be turned into a holiday.

Grayson’s mother, Gracie Rosenberger, lost her legs as the result of injuries suffered in a 1983 traffic accident. Instead of allowing that to defeat her, she and husband Peter founded Standing With Hope, a ministry that reaches out in music and prayer to amputees. They recently expanded outside the U.S. to a clinic in Ghana, where prosthetic legs are custom-built for the poor.

You can listen to my interview with Grayson by clicking on the link below or read the story at the tennessean.com.

Listen to the Interview

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Popularity: 15% [?]

Now you can eat a burger, drink a limeade and enjoy some cool science experiments from Steve Spangler Science at your local SONIC® America’s Drive-In®. We’re excited to announce the release of six books that we wrote for Sonic as part of their Wacky Pack® kid’s meal. The six book series are called Science Sliders because each page has a section that slides out to reveal another cool science secret. It will take you a minute to try to figure out how the colors appear… pretty cool.

Each book shares a different science theme: Air-Mazing Science, Science Magic, Sounds of Science, Optical Illusions, Light and Color and Backyard Science. The experiments are easy to conduct at home and may even use supplies that are found in your bag like ketchup, salt, napkins, fries… even the bag itself.

“SONIC is delighted to partner with Steve Spangler Science as part of our Accent on Education program,” said Tamara Stanley, director of segment marketing for SONIC® Drive-In®. “At SONIC, we blend fun with education by including interactive educational toys in our Wacky Pack kids’ meal. The Science Sliders books are a great example of how we help our youngest guests understand how fun learning can be.”

Download the Sonic Science Coloring Page
We at Steve Spangler Science are excited about SONIC’S desire to make their kid’s meals both fun and educational. Teachers work hard to make science fun and meaningful in their classrooms. Any time we can make science fun outside the classroom, our chances are greater for getting kids hooked.

Click here to find a SONIC® Drive-In® in your area.

Popularity: 8% [?]