Whiz-bang! Scientist thrills the crowd

  • Patricia Faulhaber
  • June 15, 2012
  • 334
                        
Do you know what happens when a balloon filled with air is emerged into a container of liquid nitrogen? The crowd at the Whiz-bang! Science Show on June 14 had many hypotheses including that the balloon would blow up, shrink, get wet or fly off into the cloudless sky. It was the perfect summer evening with bright sunshine, cool breezes and the rockets red flare overhead. Dr. Dave Lohnes, Ohio Agriculture Research and Development Center’s (OARDC) popular Whiz-Bang scientist, was shooting off rockets and showing off a few fun experiments in the John Streeter Amphitheater next to the Secrest Arboretum. Dr. Dave told the group that according to Sir Isaac Newton’s third law of motion, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Dr. Dave is one of the scientists from the OARDC and presenter for the summer evening programs. The science shows are meant to encourage kids to take the time to learn more about science in an enriching outdoor environment. Ken Cochran, program director at the OARDC said they have been offering the shows at the Arboretum for the past four years. “We usually start out with around 50 or 60 people at the beginning of the year and end up with around 200 by the last show,” Cochran said. “This is our first show this year and looks like we may get 200 people this evening. One of our goals for having the shows is to get kids outdoors and experience all aspects of being outside along with enjoying science. It brings families out for the evening together,” he said. There is also a night insect walk planned for July 21 which Cochran said helps to get kids familiar and more comfortable with insects. An insect zoo and games are planned for that upcoming evening show. For the first show of the summer, there were rockets made of two-liter plastic soda bottles and rockets with engines, cables and parachutes. Then there were the experiments with balloons, dish soap and liquid nitrogen. “The shows are insanely fun,” Lohnes said. “It’s really a fun way to get kids excited about science and to get them to pay attention when they are in science class,” he said. Lohne said he has been doing the Whiz-bang! Science Show since 2003. The shows were moved to the Arboretum in 2008. By the way, that balloon science experiment at the beginning of the show proved that the balloon shrank when in the liquid nitrogen. When Dr. Dave took the balloon out of the liquid nitrogen, it re-inflated. Each of the kids got an educational flyer to take home. Inside the flyer was Discover Science at Home instructions for building a Flying Tea Rocket at home. The flyer described how rockets fly in the air but differently than airplanes or helicopters. And, that rockets launch or blast off versus taking off like planes. The next Whiz-bang! Science Show is about flight and is scheduled for Thursday, July 12. Admission and parking are free. For the August show, Lohnes is thinking of doing a state of matters demonstration on how to make ice cream in two minutes. Check out www.oardc.ohio-state.edu for more information


Loading next article...

End of content

No more pages to load