This demonstration is for educational purposes only. Do not try this at home.
Methane is one of only 13 gases that are lighter than air. Pump a little methane into soapy water, add a little fire and watch it do its dance.
With the help of a very nervous Kirk Montgomery, we demonstrated how methane bubbles grow in a tower that sways like a snake. Lighting the methane turns the tower into fire bubbles and demonstrates that methane is flammable. This demonstration is used to teach fire safety in firefighter training, because it shows the movement of flammable gases.
Since fireworks are no longer an option, you have to find some way to occupy your time on the 4th of July. I turned to my demo team and brainstormed anything we could do in the backyard at 9News for the celebration. Here’s the classic Elephant’s Toothpaste demo using hydrogen peroxide and potassium iodide as the catalyst to make a red, white and blue patriotic eruption that shot up about 20 feet in the air.
We also learned that Oxiclean is the magic cleaner that will remove iodine stains from the beautifully pressed white shirt of a news anchor (thanks to Mark Koebrich for being the best Science Monday co-host in the world!)
UPDATED JULY 5, 2011 – Mark Koebrich asked photo journalist Brian Willie to share some behind-the-scenes video of this amazing eruption. Yes, everyone was wearing safety glasses. It’s important
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From the moment the gates opened at 9:30 AM, there was an air of excitement that ran through Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies. The event was billed as the largest hands-on science show ever presented in Colorado… or maybe the country for that matter. In 2009, the Colorado Rockies teamed up with 9News KUSA-TV and Steve Spangler Science to produce the first annual Weather and Science Day, which drew a crowd of 5,400 and earned the Spangler team their first Guinness World Record for the World’s Largest Physics Lesson.
Ticket sales to this year’s event were in excess of 10,000, making this a real challenge for the Steve Spangler Science team. “When we originally sat down and starting planning the event with Steve, he challenged us to help him create something more than a sit-and-watch show,” explained Carly Reed, special event coordinator at Steve Spangler Science. “Steve suggested pony rides in the parking lot, but we quickly refocused his creativity to something more doable.” The final decision was ambitious,
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Weather and Science Day at Coors Field 2009 resulted in a new Guinness World Record for the Largest Physics Lesson. Thanks to support from the Colorado Rockies and 9News, the Steve Spangler Science team is excited to be a part of the 2nd Annual Colorado Rockies Weather and Science Day at Coors Field on May 11, 2011.
To purchase school group tickets, call Cathy Taylor with Group Sales at 303-312-2212.
Registration Information
May 11, 2011 – Coors Field
9:30 AM Gates Open
10:30 – 11:20 AM Weather & Science Wonders
1:10 PM Rockies vs. New York Mets
Admission is $10 for upper level tickets and $16 for lower and mid-level tickets. The stage will be located on the 1st baseline, so everyone will have a great seat. Schools also get to take advantage of free bus parking.
For more details or to request an order form, please contact Cathy Taylor at (303) 312-2212 In the event of bad weather, a make-up date
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Last year’s Weather & Science Day at Coors Field resulted in a new Guinness World Record for the Largest Physics Lesson. Thanks to support from the Colorado Rockies and 9News, the Steve Spangler Science team is excited to be a part of the 2nd Annual Colorado Rockies Weather and Science Day at Coors Field on May 12, 2010. Here’s a sneak peek at what’s in store for this year’s event.
The event is scheduled to kick-off at 10:30 a.m. when I’ll be joined by my good friend Kathy Sabine, meteorologist extraordinaire, from 9News (KUSA-TV in Denver). Over the years, I’ve subjected Kathy to every imaginable situation in an effort to create some new experience that makes science fun. This year, Kathy will share some of her best weather predicting secrets and teach us the science behind our most extreme weather in Colorado… and I’ll try not to blow her up.
“Every big science show deserves a few erupting concoctions and some really cool kabooms,” said Steve as he filled a large trashcan with liquid nitrogen. “But this is not going to be a sit-and-watch experience. Every person in the audience will
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May 11, 2011 – Coors Field
