Atlanta Hands-on Science Secrets Boot Camp

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It’s just too bad that no one ever has any fun at our Hands-on Science Secrets Boot Camps… check out the pictures to see how bored these awesome teachers were.

Flying Potatoes in Ireland - Irish Science Teachers Focus on Student Engagement

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Demonstrating the Laminar flow demo called Twist of Time

We just arrived in Shannon, Ireland and we’re headed to the University of Limerick for the Irish Science Teachers Association meeting. I’ve had the great fortune of speaking at this conference twice in 1997 and 2000 where I made some fantastic friends in the science education world. When I spoke the first time in Cork, I can remember taking all of my demos over with me on the plane (oh how times have changed). Twelve years later, FedEx delivered my demos after signing my life away and, I’m happy to report, everything arrived in one piece. But there are a few things that are difficult to ship over for one reason or another. When I arrived at the University of Limerick today, I was greeted by Bob Kelly who had a 220 volt smoke machine in hand, a bag of balloons filled with sulfur hexafluoride (SF6 for the Reverse Helium demo), and a large trash can. I just can’t remember if I asked them to turn off the smoke …

Science of the Irish - Off to Speak at the Irish Science Teachers Association

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Back in July, I had the opportunity to be interviewed on an Irish talk radio program to talk about science, things that explode and the Mentos reaction. During the interview, I mentioned that I had the wonderful opportunity to speak at the ISTA (Irish Science Teachers Association) were I first showed the Mentos reaction in 1999. Several months later, I got a call from Jim McNamara from the ISTA with an invitation to join them in Limerick, Irleand for their 2009 conference.

I pulled my noted from my last lecture in Dublin for the ISTA 2000 conference and started to pull together an hour long program. Within a week of creating my set list, I got a call from the conference planners with their own list of demos that they had seen on YouTube.

Amazing… YouTube didn’t even exist a decade ago and today it’s a resource that is changing the way we teach. I’d much rather take over demos they want to see, but I wonder how we’re going to get the cement mixer and 2,500 boxes of cornstarch. We might have to resort to plan “B.” 

Want to Pull the Pin? Buyers Play with the Mentos Geyser Tube at New York Toy Fair

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Just when you think that everyone in the world has seen the Mentos Geyser experiment, you run into a few thousand people attending the New York Toy Fair who are surprised by the reaction. Last Monday I spent the entire day launching off soda geysers in the Be Amazing Toys booth at the Toy Fair. Over forty of my science toys and educational kits are licensed to Be Amazing Toys who distributes them to retailers internationally. The Geyser Tube demonstration drew some great crowds at Toy Fair thanks in part to the thirty foot tall geyser chamber that occupied the corner of the booth. The most common question I got the entire day was, “Could you do that again for my friend?” And, of course, I just had to do it again.. and again… and again. In total, we launched off about 400 two-liter bottles of diet soda (diet isn’t sticky and really blasts off well) using the Mentos Geyser Tube toy.

A photographer from the Associated Press camped out in the booth for part of the morning as well as a handful of bloggers who wanted to 

Doc Gizmo Shares Science with a Message at the Colorado Science Convention

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Doc Gizmo performs Bob Becker's Methane Mamba

It was easy to spot Doc Gizmo as you wandered through the exhibit hall at the Colorado Science Convention. He was the only person dressed in a tie-dyed lab coat with multi-colored socks and a smile that beamed from ear to ear. Even before watching his program, there was no question that this guy had found his calling.

Doc Gizmo, whose real name is Phil Arnold, has been traveling around the Midwest for several years doing his science assembly program for a wide variety of audiences. Phil told the audience that his wife teaches chemistry and physics in Bucklin, Kansas, and he was recruited to build a few science demonstrations for her to use in the classroom. One thing led to the next and Doc Gizmo is traveling the Midwest with his science show speaking to anyone and everyone who wants to learn why science is fun.

During the hour long program for an audience of science teachers at the Colorado Science Convention, Doc Gizmo skillfully weaved a handful of classic …