August 14, 2008
Hey, folks, the new
Carnival of Education is up and we're in it! Go check it out... you'll find all kinds of fantastic resources and information there.

July 14, 2008

We love it when people read our blog, try the cool and funky things we suggest, have tons of fun doing it, and SUCCEED!
Mamacita of
Scheiss Weekly tried our Upside-Down Tomatoes and so far, it's been a BIG HIT out there in southern Indiana.
We might suggest that she find a better place to put that sharp box cutter, though. Watch your fingers, Mamacita!
September 13, 2007

It's official... I'm flying out to be a guest on the
Ellen DeGeneres Show next week. Back in April of 2006 when a producer on the show originally contacted our office, I asked for your suggestions on
experiments to do with Ellen. Lots of people suggested my Smoke Rings demo and Ellen might have taken your suggestion (hint, hint). Let's just say that our office was filled with lots of smoke today as someone practiced shooting cups off of everyone's head. We're told that the air date will be next
Friday, September 21, 2007. More to come.
Tags: Ellen Degeneres, Ellen Degeneres Show, experiments with ellen, giant smoke rings, Science, science experiment, Science Experiments, Science Video, shooting cups, Smoke Rings, steve spangler, Steve Spangler Science, teaching science, The Ellen Show
June 18, 2007
Not exactly... but this stuff is really cool. It's probably best described as a self-siphoning gel. The chemical is called polyethylene oxide or Polyox and it has an incredibly large molecular weight - about 4 million. When the powder is mixed with water (that's the tricky part), the liquid becomes very thick and will literally siphon itself from one container to another. As a kid I order a product called Moon Blob - "
The Gravity Defying Gel" - which promised to do the same thing. It did... but now I'm doing it as an adult! It's tough to explain it... just
watch the Polyox video.
Tags: gravity, gravity defying, gravity defying gel, high school science fair projects, mad scientist, middle school science fair projects, polyethylene oxide, Polyox, polyox video, Science, Science Education, science experiment, science fair experiments, science fair projects, science fair projects for kids, science fair topics, science for kids, science projects for kids, Science Video, self siphoning gel, steve spangler, Steve Spangler Science, water flowing uphill
June 12, 2007

As I was driving home this evening, I received a call from a fellow science teacher who shared the news of the
passing of Don Herbert. As I reflect on the impact Mr. Wizard had on science education and me personally, I can't help but be thankful for his dedication and contagious enthusiasm for learning science. It's difficult to find a science teacher who doesn't have a favorite Mr. Wizard story. A recently retired teacher loved to tell the story of how Mr. Wizard taught him how to cook a hot dog by literally electrocuting the hot dog using a lamp cord and 120 volts of electricity. I remember watching Mr. Wizard's World on Nickelodeon in the mid 1980's and being impressed by the simplicity of the experiments but also the way Don made you want to conduct the experiments at home. Don Herbert made a career out of making science fun.

During the late 1990's, I was fortunate enough to get to work with Don on several projects, and I took the opportunity to
ask for his advice as I started my television career. …
(more...)
Tags: Don Herbert, General, Learning Science, Mr Wizard, Mr Wizard Experiments, Mr Wizards Supermarket Science, Science, Science Education, Science Teacher, steve spangler, Steve Spangler Science