Science Show Fires Up Students’ Imagination

Silence filled the auditorium at Monlux Elementary School as Kira Downey lit the fuse to a can filled with gunpowder.

Boom.

The small plastic container shot upward, left a trail of charcoal gray smoke in its wake, and smacked into the ceiling. The can had yet to hit the ground when the roughly 250 students in attendance let out a chorus of “ooh” and “aah,” “cool” and “awesome,” followed by resounding applause.

“They love the explosions,” Principal Randy Benigno said after the second of three shows this week. “And why not? They’re cool.”

More than just being cool, the explosion was part of a science show titled “Mr. Wizard’s Everyday Energy in Action,” sponsored by ECA Educational Services and the Mr. Wizard Studios. The studios also produce two similar programs on NBC and Nickelodeon channels.

For 60 minutes, Downey, who said she was not Mr. Wizard, just a helper, wowed the students with experiments demonstrating the power of energy and the importance of conserving it.

Along with the explosions, fires were started, fuses burned out and wine glasses shattered--all with relatively small doses of energy.

In one demonstration, Downey lit a row of matches, the flames stretching and swaying, to show how much heat they can give off. She then told the students it would take 40,000 burning matches to heat an oven to 350 degrees.

Another time she squirted a small amount of lighter fluid in a tin can, shut the lid, heated it and shook it so the gases from the fluid would mix more rapidly with the oxygen. Then came the students’ favorite part: Downey shot an electric spark through a small hole in the can and--kaboom.

The top of the container flew skyward and tall flames peeked over the sides of the can as a smiling and appreciative audience watched.

This is the second consecutive year the school has hosted the “Mr. Wizard” science assembly program, the type of learning tool Benigno said should be included in more curriculums.

“There’s so much competition today with Nintendo and Sega. You can’t just teach, you have to demonstrate and put on a show to keep their attention,” said Benigno. “The visuals make it so appealing to the students. I think it’s great.”