Brandt Callahan and Jackson Bartlett, who go to Parkview Intermediate School in Bedford, Indiana, took the Experiment of the Week and won FIRST PRIZE in the third grade division of the Science Fair!

In fact, Brandt and Jackson added a little OOMPH to the experiment by using several different kinds of cereal instead of just one, and using a blender instead of a baggie and their hands. The boys admit that most of the cereals they used just didn’t seem to have any iron in them, in spite of what their labels claimed.

Next time, they’re going to use Life cereal, because they want to SEE the little black dots of iron! They’ve also decided that there definitely won’t be any raisins involved - the ICK factor was just too high with raisins.

Brandt and Jackson are in the third grade, and they learned about this experiment from their teacher. Jackson had won First Prize in first grade, and Brandt had never entered a science fair before, so they decided they’d be perfect partners!

Both Brandt and Jackson love science, but since Brandt’s mom is a math teacher, he added that math is his favorite subject. GOOD ANSWER, Brandt!

While the boys confessed that science is a lot more fun when they can get up and put their hands in it, they also said that experiments seem to go more smoothly when they’ve done a little reading about it beforehand.

Congratulations to Brandt and Jackson! Science Fairs can be loads of fun, and it takes a lot of dedication and hard work to win First Prize.

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Here’s the video of the latest record. I didn’t realize that the guys at Eepybird were involved. Hats off to Stephan and Fritz - nice job! Is there any other video floating around?

Teachers have been doing this experiment for several years, but with the advent of YouTube and the advantages of the internet, more and more kids are learning about it, and experiencing the sheer fun of science in their back yards and classrooms alike. But what do students actually learn from this experiment?

They learn that the scientific laws and theories in their textbooks came about because somebody made a mess in his/her back yard or classroom. They learn that science is not dry (sometimes it’s really WET!) but actually fascinating. They learn about actions and reactions. They learn that there is beauty in a scientific experiment. They learn that they have the power to prove or disprove a theory. They learn that science is all about exploring and wondering, and sometimes it’s really sticky or messy. They learn that when everyone drops the mint into the diet coke at precisely the same moment and in the exact same way, the results of the experiment are more fair. (Using the Geyser Tube helps with that problem!) They also learn that good science appeals to people of all ages.

The entire experiment is outlined right HERE.

Oh, and one more thing: Not only will the students learn all the above things, they will also learn WHY. And they will remember.

We always remember things that made us happy, and made us laugh, and made us really, really dirty.

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It’s not the first time the editor of Cookie Magazine wanted to get their hands dirty. Over the past year, we’ve been honored to get requests from several of the magazine’s editors wanting to find ways to make learning fun. You can see from the pictures above that Cookie Magazine featured several Spangler science experiments in their March 2008 issue, once again proving that when the kids are allowed to participate, and get their hands DIRTY, the activity turns into a learning experience.

Why did Cookie Magazine contact us? Someone at the magazine subscribes to our Experiment of the Week, and here’s the secret they learned…

Read the rest of this entry »

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