Tag - Julie Gintzler

Story Time Slime – Bringing Literature & Science Together in Your Classroom

Tis the season for spooky, slimy science. The kids are excited for the upcoming holiday, restless in their seats and it’s hard to keep their attention on the lessons at hand. Early childhood teachers know that getting kids excited about science is only part of the challenge. Getting them engaged, focused and excited about what they are learning so they retain it is another big part of the puzzle.

Funnel the excitement for the holiday into an unforgettable classroom experience that will make it home to the dinner table. Why not combine a literary lesson along with a science lesson? For example, read Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin and then learn about polymers while you make Insta-Worms.

This is just one example of a great literary connection to make with your students. Do you want to learn more? Join Julie Gintzler for a one-day training that will help you build more literature connections, teach more science and have more fun while creating unforgettable learning experiences.

Story Time Slime is more than a collection of great hands-on activities. It’s a whole new way to teach science through
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New Guinness World Record Attempt – 2,500 Mentos Soda Geysers

Our own Julie Gintzler (follow @juliegintzler) is on hand in Danville, Illinois for a new Guinness World Record attempt for 2,500 MENTOS® powered soda geysers. The event organizers contacted Steve Spangler Science in their initial planning stages to see if they could gain some tips and tricks from our past MENTOS geyser records. When you’re attempting a geyser launch this big, you need a great trigger device… and that’s a perfect job for our Geyser Tube.

Be Amazing! Toys, the distributor and of Steve Spangler’s Geyser Tube toy, supported the event with the donation of the Geyser Tubes toys. “When Steve contacted us about the event and asked for Be Amazing! Toys to partner with him and share in our support, we were excited to participate,” said Marc Greenberg, Vice-President of Marketing at Be Amazing! Toys. “We know first hand the amount of effort it takes to pull off a Guinness World Record, and using the event to support Shaken Baby Syndrome is a great combination.”

A large crowd of people from Danville, Illinois came out this morning to have some fun and to support Reagan’s Rescue
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Mentos Geyser Used to Launch Beaker 20 Feet

It was quite a week for our Spangler Science team when we invaded Texas with 24 staff members and Spangler Ambassadors. Half the team headed to Fort Worth for CAST (the Conference for the Advancement of Science Teaching) and half the team went to Dallas for NAEYC ( the National Association for the Education of Young Children). While our NAEYC team was launching Mentos geysers on the Boy in a Box, the CAST team also found a unique way to use the Geyser Tube… launching our favorite scientist, Beaker , 30-feet in the air in the Geyser Chamber. It was quite a sight at the Spangler Science booth when Beaker when shooting through the air on a stream of Diet Coke.

When the team wasn’t launching stuffed Muppets, they were busy talking with excited science teachers and even presenting workshops at the conference. Spangler Speaker Julie Gintzler presented her Chicka, Chicka – KABOOM workshop. The eager participants were more than a little excited when Julie pulled out the amazing Square Bubble and the “magical” Spot Dot Thumb… now there’s way
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When the tie dyed lab coat comes out, it’s time for science

You’re in for a treat today, because I’m posting my very first podcast interview.

Listen in on my discussion with Julie Gintzler, kindergarten teacher extraordinaire and instructor at the Hands-on Science Boot Camp as she shares one of her secrets to teaching science.

Julie doesn’t do diagrams on the board or long dissertations. Her secret is her lab coat. After 18 years of teaching, Julie has finally found something that sparks the kids’ imagination right off. The first time she introduces a science experiment, she wears her tie dyed lab coat. From it she pulls out a gem of the day. It might be a test tube. It might be a magnifying glass. It’s a great way to introduce the tools in a fun and exciting way. The kids know the minute her lab coat goes on, science is just around the corner.

Most lab coats are white. One of my teachers in high school had one with burns all over it. Julie tried a plain white one and the kids were frightened. They thought “doctor”? or “nurse”?. So Julie’s is tie dyed from head to toe in primary colors.

Not only is it a cue that it is time to
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