Of sublimation and experimentation

Danette Goulet

Like brew from a witch’s caldron, smoke and bubbles billowed from the

mad scientist’s bucket into the eagerly waiting hands of children.

The 11 mad scientist apprentices, who ranged in age from 5 to 10,

couldn’t get enough of the smoke-filled bubbles that evaporated with a

poof in their small hands.

This first experiment of the day at the Mad Science Camp at the West

Newport Community Center used dry ice to teach children about

sublimation, the process in which a solid goes straight to a gas without

becoming a liquid first.

After studying the dry ice on a tin pie plate, they put it in a

bucket, added a lot of liquid soap and poured hot water over it.

As the mixture began to overflow the bucket, children played the role

of mad scientist, lifting the frothy smoking mixture with glee.

Of course, in the excitement, they had trouble recalling the name of

the process they were watching when asked.

“Setamorphosis,” guessed James Fulmizi, 8. “No, no, that’s

metamorphosis.”

They may have had trouble with the word sublimation, but they sure

knew what they were dealing with.

“They use dry ice to create a fog so thick you can cut it with a

knife,” said Rod Jalali, 8, the only boy not grabbing handfuls of the

gaseous soap.

Knowing that it was not safe to touch dry ice, Rod was not interested

in touching the product created by combining dry ice, hot water and soap

suds either.

When the smoke and suds subsided, campers headed in for the next

lesson -- air pressure.

To see air pressure in action, the head mad scientist, Laurie Simbro,

pulled out a couple of stomp rockets.

The boys formed two teams and started stomping.

It was slow going at first as there were many kinks in the hoses, but

after quite a bit of tinkering and some monumental leaps, the rockets

started to fly.

The first camper to really see results was the youngest and smallest,

5-year-old Chase Rosten, whose technique sent the plastic yellow rocket

leaping skyward.

“Chase does it on his tippy toes,” James observed.

He was soon surpassed by Keith Coulter, who sent a rocket soaring

above the roof and treetops.

“That was sweet, baby,” he exclaimed. * SCHOOL’S OUT is a weekly

feature in which Daily Pilot education writer Danette Goulet visits a

summer camp within the Newport-Mesa area and writes about her

experience.