That’s exactly what will happen when you visit your local Del Taco. We’re excited to announce the release of four science toys that we wrote for Del Taco as part of their Kid Loco Meals. The four toys are called Loco 2 Liter Learning because each toy comes with cool science experiments you can try at home using a 2-liter soda bottle.

Each toy comes with a special toy that fits on top of a 2-liter soda bottle and a “deck” of cards with fun soda bottle science experiments. Learn how to make a tornado in a bottle, create a baking soda volcano, inflate a balloon in a bottle (impossible!), use a soda bottle as a bubble blower and create bubbling lava liquid… all in the name of science. Each deck also includes important information about recycling plastic.

We at Steve Spangler Science are excited about Del Taco’s desire to make their kids’ meals both fun and educational. Teachers work hard to make science fun and meaningful in their classrooms. This type of informal science education is the next step in a wave of public response for greater emphasis on math and science. Any time we can make science fun outside the classroom, our chances are greater for getting kids hooked.

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VIDEO: Watch Steve on the Ellen Show 

Experiments Steve did on Ellen - Elephant's Toothpaste | Smoke Rings | Anti-Helium 

Let's just say it's all kind of a blur… three experiments, lots of laughs and an invitation to come back. I couldn't ask for any more. My wife and I left Denver on Wednesday to fly out to Burbank, California to tape the show on Thursday. As you might imagine, all of my "stuff" was trusted to the great people at FedEx because the airlines don't really understand why passengers should travel with beakers, strange liquids or trash cans used to blow smoke rings. We arrived at the studio at 12:30 PM on Thursday to get ready for a technical rehearsal at 2:00 PM. I was most nervous about finding my demos and getting everything set-up. The Ellen Show has an amazing staff - all of the producers and backstage people did anything possible to accommodate our every need. Contrary to what you might think, I didn't meet Ellen DeGeneres at the rehearsal. Instead, the segment producer played the role of Ellen as I ran through everything that I was going to do on the show. This is the time when the technical people (directors, camera operators, props people) got to see exactly what I was going to do. We made a mess in rehearsal - foaming suds everywhere and a studio filled with smoke. In a matter of minutes, a crew of people whisked my demos away with a quick reset and I was off to the green room to get ready.

VIDEO: Watch the Behind the Scenes Video

From that point on, everything happened very quickly. My wife and I watched the first few minutes of the show from the dressing room and then it was off to the studio. The first time I met Ellen was when I stepped out onto the set. She was extremely nice… very funny… and really seemed to enjoy the demos. But I think her favorite was knocking cups off of people's heads in the audience with giant rings of smoke. At the end of the segment, the music started to play… everyone started to dance… and Ellen invited me to come back to do more science in November! And yes… I got my Ellen underwear and a whole bunch of goodies as a parting gift. Thanks for asking.

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I’ve read through all of your suggestions and I agree that Smoke Rings are a must. But I just don’t know about the other three science experiments. Elephant’s Toothpaste has been suggested and the Disappearing Ink demo using a fire extinguisher is also on the top of the list. To help me better decide, I asked our customer service team and the great people in our distribution center for their input. Here’s what they had to say… watch the video!

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It’s official… I’m flying out to be a guest on the Ellen DeGeneres Show next week. Back in April of 2006 when a producer on the show originally contacted our office, I asked for your suggestions on experiments to do with Ellen. Lots of people suggested my Smoke Rings demo and Ellen might have taken your suggestion (hint, hint). Let’s just say that our office was filled with lots of smoke today as someone practiced shooting cups off of everyone’s head. We’re told that the air date will be next Friday, September 21, 2007. More to come.

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The crew from Modern Marvels on the History Channel visited our science lab back in July to play with some really cold science experiments. In other words, the liquid nitrogen was flowing and the onions were exploding! Mark your calendars… Modern Marvels: Deep Freeze will officially be airing on the History Channel on Tuesday, September 25th at 8pm EST.

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