The Floating Paper Airplane Trick – The Reveal
Can you defeat the odds and create a hovering paper airplane? All you need is a sheet of paper, 2 identical fans and a lot of patience. This is a great experiment to teach the principals behind how an airplane flies, lift and drag, and the principals…
Pranks & Tricks for April Fool's Day
April Fool's day is this Friday. Do you have your pranks ready to go? Our staff spends the majority of March perfecting their pranking in anticipation of the day. I'd declare April 1st a company-wide holiday, except it's too much fun to mess…
Magnet Mishap – Popular Magnetic Ball Toy Discontinued from our Science Store
The magnetic spheres might be tiny, but they're super strong. These tiny rare earth magnets are so strong that their attractive forces work through flesh (your tongue to be specific). Unfortunately, a 13 year old girl nearly died after accidentally…
Ethanol Rocket Science
Ethanol is an additive in gasoline because it burns clean and gives off a tremendous amount of energy. It is one of the renewable energy sources being looked at to replace oil and gas as our main energy resources.
Ethanol is grain alcohol and…
Ashcraft Afterschool – Doing it Right, Making it Big & Giving it Class
Mike and Chelsea Ashcraft run a weekly afterschool program, Children's Choice Child Care, for kindergarteners through second graders in Cedar Grove, New Mexico. They bring science into the lives of young children in a science enrichment program.…
Vote for Steve Spangler Science – One of 20 Awesome Facebook Fan Pages on Inc.
We are honored to be mentioned in an online Inc. Magazine poll of "20 Awesome Facebook Fan Pages" this week. The company Facebook pages were selected from nominations by entrepreneurs, social media experts, and Inc. editors.
Our Facebook Fan…
Leprechauns Beware: Beautiful Trap Ahead
Ann and her granddaughter shared their leprechaun trap with us earlier this week. They used our leprechaun trap as inspiration but "made it more girly." Instead of PVC pipe, they made a tree from branches with green glitter and added green Lucky…
Shocking Science – 50,000 Volts of Electricity & a Traffic Reporter
This demonstration proves that science is not for sissies. Stand on a stool charged with 50,000 volts of electricity and have it run over your body and across your skin. I tried this with Amelia Earhart, traffic reporter at 9News to demonstrate…
Science Fair Boot Camp – An Intense Training Program That's Changing the Science Fair Experience
Our blog editor (and my favorite contributor), Susan Wells, recently wrote an article about kindergarteners being banned from science fairs. Susan does a great job of reporting on science happenings that truly stike a nerve. In response to many…
How to Spring Into Science – Add a Few Leprechauns, a Few Seeds & a Few Insects
St. Patrick's Day is this week and it's time for the leprechauns to visit. Pull out your Green Fizzers, Green Slime, Leprechaun Insta-Snow and you are set. If the leprechauns have yet to visit your house and turn your water green, check out…