It has the potential of being the most popular science fair project of all time. The Mentos Geyser is definitely fun to watch, but some teachers are missing the opportunity to use the activity to teach science. Over the last few weeks, I’ve received emails from students explaining that their teachers are forbidding them from doing the Mentos Geyser as a science project. Why? The common response is… “there’s no science to blowing up pop.”

What? How did these teachers miss the rich science content that oozes from the bottle with every eruption? Combine the strong science with the student’s motivation to want to use the scientific method and you’ve got an amazing activity.

Brian Rice, a math teacher at Gwinn Middle School in Michigan, recently used the Mentos Geyser as a great teaching opportunity. As one of the experiments, the middle schoolers measured how high pop would spray when a Mentos candy is dropped into the pop bottle. In one day, eighth-grade classes and some seventh-grade classes conducted the Mentos and pop experiment with the objective to see whether different types of pops have greater eruptions. They ended up testing a total of 44 different varieties, ranging from Diet Coke to root beer.

This is a great example of science in action. Here’s to Brian Rice - a great teacher who gets it! Instead of forbidding the activity, Mr. Rice uses the Internet sensation to grab his students’ attention and put the scientific method to the test.

Your can read the article that appeared in the Mining Journal on January 8, 2007.

In a 2003 survey, elementary teachers said the hardest thing about teaching science was “I don’t have enough time in the day”?. In that survey supervisors were asked the same question. Their responses related to not enough materials or staff development opportunities. The secret is if we are going to make science a priority in our classrooms, we have to integrate science into the curriculum.

Listen to my podcast on teachers and time

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So you want to be an amazing teacher? Start with the parents. Back to school night is a great time to do some science demonstrations.

Imagine yourself doing an experiment right in front of the parents’ eyes, like filling a Ziplock bag with water, spearing the bag with pencils and the water doesn’t come out. As you do this you weave a story around this demonstration about how you’re taking their children whom they’ve entrusted in your care and taught them exciting new things. “Your children are our liquid assets, and it is my job to provide school ‘SPEAR-it’…The secret is to make sure we don’t lose any of those liquid assets.”

Then remind the parents: “You are giving your children to me for six hours of the day. Help me for the rest of the day to reinforce those five fundamental things I taught your child today to ensure that, after a year, your child is the best human being he or she can be.”

Incorporating demonstrations and storytelling is a very effective and simple way to communicate a message to parents.

Listen to my podcast on after school demos

(File size is 1.8 MB) (Show length 3 minutes 54 seconds)