September 3, 2008

Favorite Halloween Science Demos

I remember a time when Halloween was nothing more than dressing up and running from house to house in search of the greatest candy bars. Fast-forward to 2008 and Halloween is a big deal... elaborate costumes, parties galore and merchandising second only to Christmas. Oh, did I mention that it's a dream come true for the highly-motivated, somewhat neurotic science teacher who can't wait to make things glow, ooze, pop, scream and gross out everyone who is willing to participate. If you're one of these teachers, please keep reading (because I need your help). This year, we're compiling a list of the best Halloween Science Demos... so far. You'll find some of my favorites in the list below, but this is just the starting point. I want to know your best Halloween Science Demos. Just post a comment below and share what makes your students (or children) scream with excitement!

• Atomic Slime
• Dry Ice Experiments
• Halloween Recipes
• Dry Ice Crystal Ball Bubble
• Halloween Sounds
• Light Sticks
• VIDEO: Exploding Pumpkins

May 14, 2008

Wild About Tie Dye

Lots of kids learn how to do tie dye, but the fifth graders at Wilder Elementary got a dose of art and science today when yours truly and art teacher extraordinare, Jill Day, approached the activity from a slightly different angle. You won't find the science of tie dye in the fifth grade curriculum, but today's lesson was both a gift from the Wilder staff and PTO and a rite of passage as these students move onto middle school. From the science perspective, the students learned about three "secrets" of tie dye, and on the art side, Mrs. Day covered the coolest way to use colors in a tie dye pattern. In addition to washing their tie dye t-shirts tonight, the students were invited to share some of the "secrets" they learned and some of the finer points of learning the "real" tie dye methods (as one of the students said, "Direct from the tie dye hippie artists to our classroom!") The students will be posting their comments all night long... check back tomorrow and we'll even have some pictures and video up … (more...)

July 11, 2007

Exploding Watermelons

I love Halloween. One of my favorite activities is to "carve" pumpkins using a simple reation inside the fruit. First, you carve the face then carefully replace pieces. After creating a reaction by generating a gas inside and igniting it (ask your local chemistry teacher for the details) the face pieces are blown off with a small explosion. Halloween is more than 100 days away and I just couldn't wait. So I initiated the new weather anchor at the local Denver television station by introducing her to carving watermelons. The problem was, we didn't really carve the watermelon, it exploded. Watch the Video to see how we skipped right over the carving and went straight to exploding.

October 5, 2006

Halloween Science Kit - Brew up a potion for learning and fun

I'm not sure if Halloween was better for me as a kid or right now as an adult... but it's no secret that I make the most out of every Halloween. As a holiday, Halloween has changed so much over the years. I never remember my parents being invited to an "adult�? Halloween party, but now these parties are more popular than ever. When my family and I arrived at a neighbor's Halloween party last year, we were greeted by ghosts and goblins on the driveway who lead us through an awesome maze, into their hanunted house on our way into the party. The whole garage had been transformed into a full-blown haunted mansion! Yes, Halloween has changed over the years and this is part of the inspiration behind a our Halloween Science Kit. As a teacher, I could hardly wait for the first of October to roll around so I could start planning my Halloween Science demos and activities for my students. Every year my Halloween Science unit grew... and so did the storage space I needed to keep everything. Beakers, graduated cylinders, cauldrons, static electricity machine, growing body parts... you name it and we … (more...)

October 9, 2005

Mad About Science Week - Wally Keesecker

Our week-long salute to amazing science teachers wraps up with a visit to Heritage High School in Littleton, Colorado, where chemistry teacher Wally Keesecker gets students fired up about science. Wally is well-known for his attention-grabbing science demos that introduce students to real-world connections to everyday chemistry. Video: The Steve Spangler Mad Scientist Tour finishes the week with a bang at Heritage High School. 6 a.m. October 7, 2005. This is an especially fun visit for Steve since Wally Keesecker was his 8th grade science teacher in the Littleton Public Schools. "People like me make the decision to go into education after being inspired by an amazing teacher. While I didn't exactly know that I would one day become a science teacher, I knew that I wanted to do something in education after experiencing someone as amazing as Wally Keesecker," says Steve Spangler who is like a kid in a candy store whenever he pays a visit to his former science teacher. Wally and his teaching colleagues dazzled us with two demonstrations centered around a Halloween theme. The first demo illustrated a chemical reaction that oozed from the eyes and mouth of a carved pumpkin. Because … (more...)