Sean Moncrieff is the host of the Afternoon Show on Newtalk 106-108 fm in Ireland. This nationally syndicated show features news stories ranging from the serious to the zany… maybe that’s why they called. While waiting for my segment, I listened to the show and quickly realized how much I want to speak again in Ireland. I first lectured at the Irish Science Teachers Association in 1997 and again in 2000. I shared a few science demos and they taught me the finer points of drinking lots of Irish beer. Here’s my interview with Moncrieff.

 

 Newstalk - Ireland [11:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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If you couldn’t get enough of flying potatoes the first time, the nice people at the Ellen Show are rerunning the show that originally aired on April 15, 2008. The featured experiments include the Baby Diaper Secret, Fire Water and several versions of our potato guns (okay… call them “launchers”).

Learn how to do the experiments featured on the Ellen Show

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There’s a sneak peek video just posted on the Ellen Show site with the Dancing Fire demo and the last part of the shooting potatoes segment. If you have a second, post a comment on the show site.

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Mixing 2,500 pounds of cornstarch with the kitchen mixer just didn't work, so we had to find a cement truck… and a very cool cement truck mixing guy. Oh, and you also need three people who know exactly what the cornstarch mixer should feel like when it's perfectly mixed. Jeff, Carly and Renee served as the mixologists while I called the producer at the Ellen Show to let him know that we were ready to roll to the studio. 

Watch the Cornstarch Water Walk Video

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It's also a good idea to find someone in the audience who you've never met and trust that you won't let them sink into a pit of cornstarch goo. Watch the Cornstarch Water Walk Video View more photos at The Science Behind the Goo - Photos from the Ellen Show

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When the phone rings, we never know quite what to expect. The phone rang and on the other end was a senior producer at the Ellen Show (you know… Ellen DeGeneres). It seems that this producer had been watching a few of our science videos and wanted to know if Ellen would have fun making huge clouds with liquid nitrogen, shooting potatoes, whipping up a batch of slime or learning how to make toilet paper fly. My response was “yes” to all of the above. But maybe it’s best if you help us decide which science experiments would be most fun to do with Ellen. Of course, the goal of the segment is to show parents how to make learning fun… and what could be more fun than 50 gallons of Insta-Snow erupting on the set?

Now this doesn’t mean that I’m automatically on the show… they’re just interested. So, what cool science demos should I pitch to the producers at the Ellen Show?

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The dates for Science in the Rockies are etched in stone. Mark your calendar for August 3-5, 2006 (that’s Thursday through Sunday) in Denver, Colorado for another year of bubble blowing, slime-making, potato launching fun… educationally speaking, of course. Last year we had 99 teachers who attended our summer workshop and a small handful were brave enough to do a few science demos on live television at 6:30 AM. Watch the video and read teacher comments from 2005.

Learn more about Science in the Rockies 2006

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How to be amazing teacher? Try this! Get organized. The hardest thing is to take all the ideas we learn at conferences, workshops and seminars and put them to use.

Don’t put science demonstrations in a closed box - because they will stay there. Throw the lid away, so you constantly have to look at those materials. If they are staring you in the face, you are more likely to build them into your curriculum.

Once you get organized, you start using your resources better. And you will be a more effective science teacher with those tools right at your fingertips.

Listen to my podcast on how to be an amazing teacher by taking the lid off the box

(File size is 1.1 MB) (Show length 4 minutes 4 seconds)

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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