I was contacted several months ago by Julia Ann Charpentier, a Milwaukee-based freelance writer and an editor for book publishers, for a future article in the trade journal TD Monthly Magazine. If you’re interested in learning more about the world of educational toys… or you are curious about how Steve Spangler Science got it’s start, just click on the link below.
Another three eggs met their fate as Ginger Huffman skillfully executed a perfect egg drop in front of nearly 2,000 cheering fans. Ginger Huffman and Alyson Edwards served as the conference organizers for one of the top early childhood education conferences in the country – West Virginia’s Celebrating Connections. It was my job to wrap up the conference with the Friday morning keynote – How to be an Amazing Teacher! West Virginia’s top early childhood teachers met to share practices, policies, planning and research that enhances the quality of early childhood education in the state. With an increased focused on hands-on science, the conference organizers asked me to help by sharing practical science activities and eye-catching demonstrations that get children turned onto science at a young age. Pictured to the right is Ginger Huffman, conference organizer and egg drop extraordinaire.
Who would have ever thought that a white powder that turns water into snow (okay, fake snow) would get so much attention? When we introduced Insta-Snow to the market in 2003, no one knew that this special polymer could have so many applications. For Jason Sawin, a firefighter in Littleton, Colorado and owner of CHS Snowmakers, Insta-Snow® earned him a mention in the Denver Post. The picture to the right (mentioned but not shown in the article) is the home in Englewood, Colorado that the team at Steve Spangler Science snowed for NBC affiliate 9NEWS. Read the Insta-Snow article in the Denver Post. There’s no mention of his “secret” source, but you guessed it… Jason’s another satisfied customer.
You can purchase Insta-Snow in small, medium and large quantities.
Every year in February I make a pilgrimage to New York to attend the International Toy Fair. The city is host to some 20,000 buyers and industry professionals who are on a quest to buy and sell the latest creations in the toy market. On Monday, I met up with Toy Guy Chris Byrne to broadcast live from the Toys R’ Us store in Time Square back to 9NEWS in Denver. See the video.
More than 20,000 buyers and toy industry professionals descend on New York each February to feverishly buy and sell what else but toys… lots of toys. This year over 100,000 products were represented – anything and everything you could ever imagine. I typically get to wear two hats at Toy Fair as both a buyer and a seller. Even though I sold my toy manufacturing company – Be Amazing Toys – in 2004, I still hold a position as Director of Product Development. In other words, it’s my job to think up science related products and kits that store owners will buy and kids will love.
This year we introduced a new line of kits focusing on the “Yuck-Factor”. I got the idea last Spring while teaching a group of 3rd graders the finer points to making the world’s best batch of slime. It’s pretty simple stuff… just mix a little green goo with the cross-linker and you’ve got slime. But I soon learned that kids don’t want to follow recipes – they want to create their own. Within minutes of learning my formula, these kids were mixing up their own concoctions… adding new ingredients… trying their best
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