Hour-long classes held around valley to teach subject
By JAN HOGAN
VIEW STAFF WRITER
JIM MILLER/VIEWAlysa Mallory, 10, left, and Bryce Bullock, 9, help Electron John of Mad Science demonstrate air pressure principles.
JIM MILLER/VIEWJordan King attempts to keep a pingpong ball afloat with only his breath and a straw to help demonstrate Bernoulli?s principle of fast and slow air.
JIM MILLER/VIEWElectron John, aka Johnny Miles, of Mad Science of Las Vegas performs an experiment to help the kids understand how air pressure in the environment functions.
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If only every science class could be as fun as the one held on March 19. That's when Sahara West Library, 9600 W. Sahara Ave., hosted Mad Science of Las Vegas for an hour-long program.
The program was held in the story room and had two dozen participants, ages 6 to 11. They sat on the floor as mad scientist Electron John went over the rules.
Beside him was a table holding curious items -- pingpong balls, a yellow pail, beakers and balloons. After having the children repeat a silly yet serious vow that they would never touch the equipment, the show began with a question -- What's the bunch of air that surrounds Earth called?
"I'll give you a hint," said Electron John, aka Johnny Miles. "It starts with 'at' and rhymes with 'mosphere.' "
He proceeded to introduce children to the concept of air pressure. It was demonstrated by having two students stand on either side of him, placing their hands on his upper arms and exerting pressure. When one was told to step away, the inevitable happened and Electron John caught himself from toppling over.
That segued into a science-based magic trick -- causing sea levels to rise. And it had noting to do with global warming.
In this case, the sea was a pan of colored water, and the ship, a floating candle. When Electron John inverted a tall, narrow beaker and set it over the burning ship, the flame went out and the sea water level within the beaker rose.
"It's like taking out gravity," he said.
Air pressure continued to dominate the show as the children learned of Daniel Burnelli and his principal of fast and slow air. It was demonstrated with a wind sock.
Children then had a chance to test the theory for themselves, blowing through elbow straws to keep Pingpong balls afloat.
Mad Science of Las Vegas is known for having fun with the laws of gravity and other principles. It exposes about 200,000 children a year to science through various means, such as after-school programs, assemblies and summer and winter camps.
"The neatest activity is when we have the children build rockets," said Scott Rosen, owner and chief mad scientist. "They each have their own vision of what a rocket looks like. They have such vivid imaginations."
Their imaginations were involved in the next what-have-we-here activity, showing the difference between a vacuum and a vortex. It was all explained in terms meant to be simple, and the yellow pail from the table turned out to be a vortex generator in disguise. It was demonstrated by snapping the diaphragm inside it to send out a rush of air, blowing bangs from faces.
Participants were given the task of making their own vortex generators, using small plastic cups, balloons and electrical tape. Soon, the room was filled with the sound of plunking as the children tried them out on each other.
Electron John, a former teacher with a background in theater, made as much of an impression as did the experiments.
"He's really silly," said Valin Mallory, 4.
Jasmine Figueroa, 11, said she liked the Pingpong ball experiment best.
"It took some practice, but you just have to blow really fast and hard," she said.
Mad Science's summer camps begin June 9. For more information, visit www.madsciencelv.com or call 257-6231.
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