Balancing Act - Cylinder Strength
If someone told you that they could balance a full-size text book on a piece of paper, you might call up the looney bin. That’s […]
Easy Science Experiments
Force and Motion
Spinning Match - Table Trick
When you cautiously balance a matchstick on the rim of a coin that has also been precariously balanced onto another coin, it might sound like […]
Stop and Go - Swinging Pendulum Trick
While many magicians rely on the arts of deception or slight of hand to baffle their audience, we like to use principles of science to […]
Balloon-Powered Car
When it comes to powering a race car, there are a lot of options. Some cars use gasoline, diesel fuel, rocket fuel, or other combustible […]
Drag Racing Cups
In the Drag Racing Cups experiment, you’ll construct a simple and fun racer that converts potential energy into kinetic energy.
Mousetraps in Motion
A mousetrap is a stellar example of converting potential energy to kinetic energy. The spring of the mousetrap is held back with a bunch of […]
Wind Up Racer
Finding creative, hands-on ways to demonstrate the difference between potential and kinetic energy can be difficult. With some simple household items and a little creativity, […]
Do it Yourself Weather Vane
Early weathermen and women didn’t use Doppler radar or computers to forecast the weather, they relied on tools that were much more simple. Take, for […]
Make Your Own Compass
There is one tool that is sure to give you guidance if you get lost, a compass. But what could you do if you forgot […]
Walking on Eggs
The phrase “walking on eggshells” is an idiom that is often used to describe a situation in which people must tread lightly around a sensitive […]
Borax Crystal Ornaments
Bringing real snowflakes inside one-at-a-time is next to impossible. The snowy globs on your shoes and gloves don’t count, either. So, to work around this […]
Cornstarch Monsters - Vibrating Cornstarch on a Speaker
Mixing cornstarch and water creates an ooey, gooey substance that behavior both like a solid and a liquid at the same time. Scientists call this […]
Magic Rollback Can
The Magic Rollback Can appears to be a normal can that was once full of coffee, but after you roll it along the ground a […]
Mysterious Appearing Colors
We’ve mixed our share of colors here at Steve Spangler. We know that red and blue make purple, blue and yellow make green, and that […]
Falling Ring Catch
Is it possible to catch a falling ring with a loop of string? Sure it is! It’s going to take a bit of experimentation and […]
Desktop Catapult
Since city ordinances (among other things) won’t allow us to build a full-scale Medieval catapult, we had to scale it down a bit. Despite the […]
CD Hovercraft
The puck used in an ice hockey game is designed to be nearly frictionless as it flashes across a surface of ice. At a game center, “Air Hockey” uses air […]
Floating Paper Plane
THIS WAS PART OF AN APRIL FOOL'S DAY PRANK! We don't know if the Wright Brothers ever made the attempt, but Steve Spangler has […]
Marble Gravitron
Recently, the Spangler Labs Research Team took a trip to an amusement park. (It wasn’t for fun, it was for work but it was fun.) […]
Candle Seesaw
This scientific amusement is easily overlooked when you’re thumbing through the pages of an old science book. How exciting can a few candles attached to […]
Color Mixing Wheel
Here’s an amazing way to combine scientific principles of physics with the visual science of color mixing to create a gizmo that will have you […]
The Unbelievable Pendulum Catch
It’s a classic comedy bit from the silent movie era. The villain hoists a piano to a third- or fourth-story window just waiting for the […]
Flying Tea Rocket
The Flying Tea Rocket is an adaptation of a classic science demonstration called the “Ditto-Paper Rocket.”* Each two-page Ditto master had a sheet of tissue paper […]
Floating Rice Bottle
Although this effect is presented with modern containers like plastic soda bottles, the original magic trick dates back thousands of years. The magician shows everybody […]