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“Weird Science” has appeared on the David Letterman 18 times in the last 10 years, usually trashing the set each time – it is science “infotainment”! "Weird Science" takes many forms depending on the needs of the participants. We have done programs for teachers, students, adults, and corporations. We tailor each program to the group with which we are working. We have presented to groups as large as 5000 students [& the mikes went out!], to 2200 teachers and general public, and to audiences as large as 10,000,000 [the David Letterman Show where we were selected for their Emmy shots and on their 10th Anniversary show]. We have also been on shows from Bozo to Inside Edition and Craig Kilborn. We have even done demonstrations in the halls of the US Congress on Capitol Hill.
"Weird
Science" is a series of short, easy and sometimes "weird" demonstrations
and ideas on chemical and physical phenomena, designed for teachers of the
physical sciences, primarily at middle school and high school levels. The
program presents novel demonstrations guaranteed to hook kids and adults into
thinking about science concepts. It lasts between one and six hours. Humor and
audience participation are an integral part of "Weird
Science". As Hubert Alyea said "Surprise, humor and truth are the
servants of a good lecture." "Weird Science"
entertains while it educates. It is our job to awaken our student's desire to
learn--to keep the students mentally coming back. You cannot communicate with
people who are not mentally present. If you want "presence" you have to capture
attention. "Weird Science" provides tools to
capture attention.
"Weird
Science" is a fast paced [like MTV] series of demonstrations on chemical and
physical phenomena presented to audiences of students and adults. The
approximately one hour program is designed to stimulate student interest in
science by involving students in the demonstration process. As Bassam
Shakhashiri says " A good demonstration is a process, not an event." "Weird Science" treats each demonstration as a learning
experience that will send students back to the classroom or home talking about
science. Be ready to answer their questions! Many of the demonstrations are open
ended and will set the stage for further class discussion and demonstrations.
Discrepant events are the backbone of "Weird
Science". We follow George Gilbert's suggestion and "Don't tell them what
is going to happen, treat each one [demonstration] as an
experiment"
In a recent survey published in
School Science and Mathematics on "Secondary Science Teacher's Needs,"
teachers ranked methods to motivate students as their number one concern and
identification of sources of peer tested instructional materials as a high
priority. WEIRD SCIENCE presentations provide both.
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