I remember having to sit through my fair share of horrible chemistry videos in high school. I must say this is a much better way to learn about the noble gases, but I’m not sure which version I like better.
It’s true that I find some of my best experiment inspiration in the hardware store. My team often likes to tell the story about spending five hours at Home Depot before a conference in Atlanta… don’t believe everything you hear. This Teflon Tape experiment is one of my favorites because young scientists get to use a pretty common household material to make their own secret messages. Check out the video below, then read the experiment for the whole story.
Fill the glass jar with water and cover it with a card. As you turn the whole thing upside down, the audience can hardly contain themselves. The room quiets down as you precariously position the inverted jar and card a few feet above someone’s head. And yes, I love the look of terror on my “helper’s” face when I take the card out from under the jar. Watch the video below and read the experiment for a lesson on how to make some science magic.
When I pose the question, “What is black?” at a teacher training workshop, I inevitably get two standard answers in response… “Black is black… a color,” or “Black is the absence of all color.” That’s when I like to break out my filter paper and Vis-A-Vis pens and get ready to amaze the audience. This is one of my favorite experiments to show the scientific principle of chromatography and answer that elusive question… “Is black really black?” Watch the video below, then check out the experiment.
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.
