Tag - ISAT

Flying Potatoes in Ireland – Irish Science Teachers Focus on Student Engagement

We just arrived in Shannon, Ireland and we’re headed to the University of Limerick for the Irish Science Teachers Association meeting. I’ve had the great fortune of speaking at this conference twice in 1997 and 2000 where I made some fantastic friends in the science education world. When I spoke the first time in Cork, I can remember taking all of my demos over with me on the plane (oh how times have changed). Twelve years later, FedEx delivered my demos after signing my life away and, I’m happy to report, everything arrived in one piece. But there are a few things that are difficult to ship over for one reason or another. When I arrived at the University of Limerick today, I was greeted by Bob Kelly who had a 220 volt smoke machine in hand, a bag of balloons filled with sulfur hexafluoride (SF6 for the Reverse Helium demo), and a large trash can. I just can’t remember if I asked them to turn off the smoke
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Science of the Irish – Off to Speak at the Irish Science Teachers Association

Back in July, I had the opportunity to be interviewed on an Irish talk radio program to talk about science, things that explode and the Mentos reaction. During the interview, I mentioned that I had the wonderful opportunity to speak at the ISTA (Irish Science Teachers Association) were I first showed the Mentos reaction in 1999. Several months later, I got a call from Jim McNamara from the ISTA with an invitation to join them in Limerick, Irleand for their 2009 conference.

I pulled my noted from my last lecture in Dublin for the ISTA 2000 conference and started to pull together an hour long program. Within a week of creating my set list, I got a call from the conference planners with their own list of demos that they had seen on YouTube.

Amazing… YouTube didn’t even exist a decade ago and today it’s a resource that is changing the way we teach. I’d much rather take over demos they want to see, but I wonder how we’re going to get the cement mixer and 2,500 boxes of cornstarch. We might have to resort to plan “B.”