Tissue paper is known for a few things. For example, tissue paper is soft and nice for blowing your nose. Tissue paper is not, however, known for its tensile strength. Most people wouldn’t be surprised if a common housefly could tear through a piece. In the Magic Tube – Strong Tissue Paper experiment, though, we’ll show you a way to make tissue paper nearly impenetrable.
From Tatooine to Hoth, there is one legendary weapon that is regarded as the ultimate in Rebel and Empire warfare… the lightsaber. Ewoks, Wookies, Jawas, and droids all cower before the mighty lightsaber. Wanna make your own? Let us take you to a galaxy far, far away and teach you how you can build your own working lightsaber. Trust us, it works.
Steve Spangler is a celebrity teacher, science toy designer, speaker, author and an Emmy award-winning television personality. Spangler is probably best known for his Mentos and Diet Coke geyser experiment that went viral in. Spangler is the founder of www.SteveSpanglerScience.com, a Denver-based company specializing in the creation of science toys, classroom science demonstrations, teacher resources and home for Spangler’s popular science experiment archive and video collection. Spangler is a frequent guest on the Ellen DeGeneres Show and Denver 9 News where he takes classroom science experiments to the extreme. For teachers, parents or DIY Science ideas – check out other sources of learning:
A vacuum packer is an amazing device that vacuum packs food to seal in the freshness. At least that’s what those late night infomercials tell us. We’re more excited about using this fascinating device to explore amazing scientific properties. Fill the special storage container with marshmallows (we prefer those adorable yellow Peeps) and watch the incredible growing marshmallow trick!
Who taught these noodles to dance, anyway? Go on – gather up some pasta noodles, turn up the music, and get ready for an old-fashioned pasta party. Just when you thought you were done at the dinner table… here is some kitchen science that will have you learning about volume and density in a brand new, hands-on way!
“For this trick, all you need is a bit of un-popped pop corn and a ball bearing.” It’s the perfect phrase to get all of the people around you excited for a bit of science magic. Many people don’t realize that pop corn and ball bearings have a remarkable chemical reaction that turns the ball bearing into a ping pong ball. In fact, when you perform the demonstration, your audience won’t believe their eyes.
Who needs a magic wand to create levitating objects when you have a balloon? In the Static Flyer experiment, we’ll teach you how understanding certain scientific ideas can result in a trick that would make Harry Potter, Gandalf the Grey, and even Merlin jealous.
A flame goes out inside of an upside down jar and, like magic, the jar is stuck to a plate. You might think that the jar has sucked right to the plate, but we’ll explain why this trick is actually a result of pushing!
If someone told you that they could balance a full-size text book on a piece of paper, you might call up the looney bin. That’s a crazy idea, right? Well, the notion that a book can sit, precariously, atop a plain piece of paper isn’t quite as bonkers as you might think!
What a great start to 2013! From Pop Rocks, mystery liquids, folding eggs and even a VIRAL video showing how to remove iron from your breakfast cereal, to newspaper trees, dirty cell phones, and instantly freezing water. Hope you enjoyed this month as much as we did!
Don’t miss the season two premier of The Spangler Effect on March 6, 2013!
If you are a candy enthusiast, like a lot of the people at Spangler Labs, you know that not all candies are created equal. And, if we’re being honest, Pop Rocks are one of the greatest candies of all time! You dump a few of the tiny pebbles onto your tongue and, in an instant, they begin fizzing, popping, and snapping about in your mouth. What’s going on here? Being scientists, we devised a way to figure out the popping secret behind the famous candy. Are you ready to expand your mind (as well as a few balloons)?
Mystery liquid revealed here http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/sink-or-swim-surface-tension
There are times in science where changing one variable can be the difference between fire and smoke, conducting and insulating, and in this case, sinking and swimming. In the Sink or Swim experiment, you’ll learn how adding one variable to water will change the amount of surface tension the water has. You’ll see that anything you add to water can quickly affect whether something sinks or swims.
Common sense tells you that it’s impossible to boil water in a paper bag, but this classic parlor trick was a favorite of Victorian magicians. The real difficulty in performing this effect is making it look harder than it is! As you might imagine, the secret lies in yet another amazing property of water. Instead of using a paper bag, this modern day version of the demonstration uses an ordinary balloon, some water, and a candle. It’s a combination that’s guaranteed to make people stand back.
Mystery liquid revealed at http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/how-to-make-a-folding-egg
The Folding Egg activity is actually an extension of the classic Rubber Egg experiment with a really fun twist. Just imagine the look on your friends’ faces when you show them an egg and then proceed to fold it in half several times until it forms a small white ball! Wait… it gets better. Just bounce the “folded egg” between your hands and the egg reappears!
Read the full experiment at http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/leak-proof-bag
Who would have ever thought that a plastic bag, some water, and a few pencils would frighten the thunder out of Mom? Learn how to poke a hole in a plastic bag filled with water and reseal it like magic. The secret has to do with a better understanding of the chemistry of polymers.
Check out the full experiment at http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/balancing-nails-trick
The object of the challenge is to balance all of the nails on the head of a single nail. All of the nails have to be balanced at the same time and cannot touch anything but the top of the nail that is stuck in the base. If you’re really ambitious, you can try your luck at our large-scale version using landscape nails and a friend as the base. Enough of this idle chatter… get balancing!
Read the full experiment at http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/flame-light-relight
There’s a lot of chemistry behind the simple lighting or extinguishing of a flame. Would you believe us if we told you that you could extinguish a flame just by placing it partway into a graduated cylinder? What if we told you that you could relight the fire without a match or lighter? Both propositions seem unlikely, if not downright impossible. With the Flame Light Relight experiment, however, you’ll see how a few household items can mix together and create a fire-based experience you have to see to believe.
Although this effect is presented with modern containers like plastic soda bottles, the original magic trick dates back thousands of years. The magician shows everybody two identical bottles of rice and two chopsticks. When the performer plunges a chopstick into the bottle of rice and lifts, the rice and bottle seem so light that they float upwards as the chopstick is raised. But, when a spectator is invited to do the same thing with the other bottle of rice and chopstick, it refuses to rise. Nothing changes when the performer and spectator exchange chopsticks — the performer’s bottle rises while the spectator’s does not. What is the secret? Read the full experiment to find out: http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/floating-rice-bottles
Read the full experiment at http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/egg-drop-inertia-trick
The challenge sounds so simple… just get the egg into the glass of water, but there are a few obstacles. The egg is perched high above the water on a cardboard tube, and a pie plate sits between the tube and the water. Still think it’s easy? Sir Isaac Newton does.
You’ve probably learned or heard about DNA, but have you ever seen it? With the Strawberry DNA experiment, you’ll extract, isolate, and observe the DNA of a strawberry in a matter of minutes. It sounds impossible, but thanks to special characteristics of strawberries, it’s actually very possible… and simple. You don’t have to be a geneticist. You don’t need a microscope. It’s easy, fun, and all you need are some household materials.
Want more experiments like this? Check out http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/product/naked-eggs-and-flying-potatoes
Sick Science™ is a trademark of Steve Spangler, inc.
Halloween is our favorite time of year, and dry ice is the ultimate addition to any Halloween party! With a little dry ice, water, and dish soap, you will be able to make your own crystal ball bubble to gaze into the future and see what your Halloween has in store for you!
With Halloween right around the corner, all you need to be the hit of the party is a little bit of dry ice, a touch of dish soap, and a bunch of time! Once you make these smoking bubbles, you won’t want them to stop… or maybe its that you can’t make them stop!
Highlighters have a number of uses, from helping acknowledge important text to acting as brightly-colored markers in our favorite coloring book. Around Halloween, though, we’ve found an entirely different use for them. With the Black Light Secret Message experiment, you’ll see that certain highlighters aren’t just brightly-colored – they actually glow underneath a black light! The secret messages and floating images you’ll create with this experiment are sure to create screams of joy and shrieks of excitement.
Halloween is a big deal around Steve Spangler Science and, needless to say, we’re excited. So, here’s a sneak peak at what we have cooked up for October. What are your Halloween plans? Any cool costume ideas or haunted house schemes? We look forward to hearing what you have going on.
Read the full experiment at http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/is-black-black
What color is black? Some people answer with a simple “black,” while others respond with something like “black is the absence of all color.” If you have ever run out of black paint or your black pen ran dry, you probably know how to make the color black. Mix a little blue with red and yellow and green and orange and purple and you finally make the color black. Do the people who make black pens mix different colors to make black? Using a technique called chromatography, let’s find out exactly what makes up the color in that black pen.
Sick Science™ is a trademark of Steve Spangler, inc.
Read the full experiment at http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/homemade-handboiler
Are you hot enough to make water bubble with just the heat from your touch? What would you say if we told you that you could make water boil with nothing more than your touch? Impossible, right? Give this experiment a try and find out.
Read the full experiment at http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/red-cabbage-chemistry
Ahh, the sweet smell of science! Invite your friends over to share in this super smelly but really cool activity. Plug your nose and get ready to make your own red cabbage indicator that will test the acidity or alkalinity of certain liquids.
Read the full experiment at http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/sharpiepenscience
It’s a brand new tie dye technique without the mess… and the results are amazing! This experiment combines chemistry and art to create a design that is sure to get lots of attention.
Read the full experiment at http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/spinning-match-table-trick
When you cautiously balance a matchstick on the rim of a coin that has also been precariously balanced onto another coin, it might sound like rotating the matchstick will cause it all to come tumbling down. We’ll show how this isn’t just possible, it’s downright cool.
Read the full experiment at http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/prayer-vase-genie-in-a-bottle
The science magician displays a bottle and a short length of rope. She explains that according to the ancient legends, a genie lives in the bottle. While you can’t see the genie, if you tickle him with something like a rope, it makes him mad and he hangs onto the rope. The rope is inserted into the bottle and jiggled a bit. When the bottle with the rope still inside it is turned upside down, the rope is seen to dangle unsupported from the bottle. The magician explains that the genie is even strong enough to make the bottle float. Now, the bottle and rope are turned right side up. While holding only the end of the rope, the magician lets go of the bottle and it is seen to float at the end of the rope. On command, the genie releases the rope, it is easily removed from the bottle and handed out for examination. The bottle may be examined, as well. Nothing unusual will be found. But how?
Read the full experiment at http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/vanishing-styrofoam-cup
Styrofoam is one of the most complex and difficult materials on earth when it comes to decomposition. But, believe it or not, there is a way to make an entire cup of styrofoam vanish in a matter of seconds. It doesn’t involve fire, so there’s no acrid smoke released, either. It’s not actual magic, but knowing the science behind what takes places is pretty darn awesome.
Read the full experiment at http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/water-balloon-in-a-bottle
If we asked you to blow up a balloon inside of a bottle or, better yet, fill that balloon with water, you’d probably think that it’s no problem. Think again! The Water Balloon in a Bottle experiment will show you just how powerful air pressure actually is, and you’ll get to play some fun tricks on your friends. Having fun with friends and learning along the way? It’s a hands-on science two-for-one!
Read the full experiment at http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/magic-with-physics-pendulum
While many magicians rely on the arts of deception or slight of hand to baffle their audience, we like to use principles of science to achieve the same effect. With the Pendulum Stop trick, you’ll use the sympathetic motion of two pendulums to make your friends think they’ve developed telekinetic powers… or are a Jedi… we’ll leave that part up to them. All you need are some household items and you’ll be fooling people in no time at all!
Graffiti is an oft discussed topic of debate in the modern world. While some consider graffiti a nuisance, others consider it street art. With that debate still raging, we suggest performing the Moss Graffiti experiment on a wall or piece of particle board that you have permission to use. Once you’ve received that permission, you’ll create a beautiful growing, green work of art.
Steve Spangler is a celebrity teacher, science toy designer, speaker, author and an Emmy award-winning television personality. Spangler is probably best known for his Mentos and Diet Coke geyser experiment that went viral in. Spangler is the founder of www.SteveSpanglerScience.com, a Denver-based company specializing in the creation of science toys, classroom science demonstrations, teacher resources and home for Spangler’s popular science experiment archive and video collection. Spangler is a frequent guest on the Ellen DeGeneres Show and Denver 9 News where he takes classroom science experiments to the extreme. For teachers, parents or DIY Science ideas – check out other sources of learning:
There’s something magical about a bubble. It’s just a little puff of air trapped in a thin film of soap and water, but its precise spherical shape and beautiful swirling colors make it a true wonder of science. A bubble’s life expectancy is usually measured in seconds unless you know how to make a SUPER BUBBLE!
Steve Spangler is a celebrity teacher, science toy designer, speaker, author and an Emmy award-winning television personality. Spangler is probably best known for his Mentos and Diet Coke geyser experiment that went viral in. Spangler is the founder of www.SteveSpanglerScience.com, a Denver-based company specializing in the creation of science toys, classroom science demonstrations, teacher resources and home for Spangler’s popular science experiment archive and video collection. Spangler is a frequent guest on the Ellen DeGeneres Show and Denver 9 News where he takes classroom science experiments to the extreme. For teachers, parents or DIY Science ideas – check out other sources of learning:
Read the full experiment at http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/puff-pop-how-to-make-a-co2-sandwich Mom always warned us never to play with our food… but no one said that the wrappers were off limits. Here’s a fun activity that uses some common items you’ll find around the house and a little creativity to explore the “pop” factor of vinegar and baking soda.
Read the full experiment at http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/solar-oven-s-mores There are just some things that are synonymous with “summertime snacks,” and we can’t think of a summer snack we enjoy quite as much as s’mores. But what would you do if you weren’t allowed to have a fire or just didn’t have the tools necessary for a fire? We came up with a pretty neat way to harness the heat and energy of the sun to create a solar powered cooker that makes a delicious batch of s’mores without a fire!
