Tag - steve spangler

Bubble Wrap Winner – Grayson Rosenberger

Cynthia Palmer, a very dynamic 5th grade science teacher from Franklin Road Academy, called this morning to share the great news. Her student, Grayson Rosenberger, just won the Bubble Wrap® Competition for Young Inventors. Mrs. Palmer first learned about the contest from our blog post on September 14, 2006. The Bubble Wrap Competition for Young Inventors invited young scientists to exercise their creativity in developing an invention that incorporates Bubble Wrap cushioning.

Listen to the Interview

During our phone call this morning, Cynthia Palmer said, “We’ve got the Today Show here… lots of people are calling… and we’re so proud and excited. Grayson not only won a contest, but he came up with something that will change people’s lives. Who says having fun is not important?!”

The 15-year-old student from Franklin Road Academy in Nashville, Tennessee used Bubble Wrap brand packing material to develop a cost-effective cosmetic skin covering for prosthetic limbs. Later this year, Grayson will visit Ghana with his parents to fit some patients with his low-cost invention.

Grayson received $10,000 in savings bonds as well as a trip to New York, where the Grand Prize Winner will be
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A Science Lesson from SONIC Drive-In

Now you can eat a burger, drink a limeade and enjoy some cool science experiments from Steve Spangler Science at your local SONIC® America’s Drive-In®. We’re excited to announce the release of six books that we wrote for Sonic as part of their Wacky Pack® kid’s meal. The six book series are called Science Sliders because each page has a section that slides out to reveal another cool science secret. It will take you a minute to try to figure out how the colors appear… pretty cool.

Each book shares a different science theme: Air-Mazing Science, Science Magic, Sounds of Science, Optical Illusions, Light and Color and Backyard Science. The experiments are easy to conduct at home and may even use supplies that are found in your bag like ketchup, salt, napkins, fries… even the bag itself.

“SONIC is delighted to partner with Steve Spangler Science as part of our Accent on Education program,” said Tamara Stanley, director of segment marketing for SONIC® Drive-In®. “At SONIC, we blend fun with education by including interactive educational toys in our Wacky Pack kids’ meal. The Science Sliders books are
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Students Learn Mom Was Right – Wash Your Hands

The students at Wilder Elementary in Littleton, Colorado proved that Mom is right, “Wash your hands with soap and warm water!”? The third grade class did an experiment using Petri dishes prepared with agar (a seaweed derivative). Agar is an ideal “food”? source for the bacteria. The students collected samples around the school including on top of the tissue box, door knobs and more. You won’t believe what they found growing in the common areas that we all touch. They also tested how well common cleaners eliminated the bacteria.

The students also learned how to properly handle the growing bacteria. Always seal the Petri dishes and throw them away when you are done. The teachers had the students take pictures of the dishes, so they could refer back to their findings, without having to store bacteria that can make them sick.

Watch the Video to see what they found

Read more about how to do your own experiment with nutrient agar.

Mentos Geyser Hits the Classroom… But Some Teachers Don’t Get It

It has the potential of being the most popular science fair project of all time. The Mentos Geyser is definitely fun to watch, but some teachers are missing the opportunity to use the activity to teach science. Over the last few weeks, I’ve received emails from students explaining that their teachers are forbidding them from doing the Mentos Geyser as a science project. Why? The common response is… “there’s no science to blowing up pop.”

What? How did these teachers miss the rich science content that oozes from the bottle with every eruption? Combine the strong science with the student’s motivation to want to use the scientific method and you’ve got an amazing activity.

Brian Rice, a math teacher at Gwinn Middle School in Michigan, recently used the Mentos Geyser as a great teaching opportunity. As one of the experiments, the middle schoolers measured how high pop would spray when a Mentos candy is dropped into the pop bottle. In one day, eighth-grade classes and some seventh-grade classes conducted the Mentos and pop experiment with the objective to see whether different types of pops have greater eruptions. They ended up testing a total of 44 different varieties, ranging from
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Steve Spangler Unwrapped? Food Network Pays a Visit

Just the thought is scary… but I’m talking about the popular show Unwrapped on the Food Network. Producers from the show called to see if they could get a better look at the science behind the Mentos Geyser Experiment and to see if they could get a sneak peek at our new line of Geyser Tube toys. Not only did they get an up close view of the spewing soda geyser, the crew learned how to cook with 20 liters of liquid nitrogen.

I forgot to mention to the photographer, Andy McDonald, that he and his expensive HD camera would disappear in a giant cloud of smoke when I poured out the liquid nitrogen. The good news is that no one died when we wrapped up the day with a round of exploding, self-carving pumpkins.