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September 2006 SPEAKING OUT SAMTalk aboutaprogramcalled the artthatgoesbacktohisroots. ground inmagicandshowmanshipalovefor up inafamilyofmagicians.Stevehassolidback- Mr. Spanglerisaprofessionalmagicianwhogrew the MileHighMagiciansSociety Assembly 37— interview conductedbyLindsaySmith,Presidentof ing himwithexcellentcredentialsinthatdiscipline. ing scienceinaDenver-area school system,provid- degree inchemistryand11 yearsexperienceteach- www.9news.com/spangler. Steve also hasaB.S. viewers science segmentsareseenbyoveramillion years hasearnedhimanEmmy, andhisweekly on televisionoverthepast15 and Target. C the Discovery retailers suchas Toys “R”Us, factures sciencetoysandkitsfor called Be Amazing! Toys manu- division mass-market toys. A teaching toolsandspecialty opment ofscience-education cializing inthesalesanddevel- line andcatalogbusinessspe- Science, aDenver-based on- C.E.O. ofSteveSpangler STEVE: this. ground, I’msure youhavesomethoughtson Q: science education. Wand, andthePom-PomPole…allinnameof exposed theChangeBag,SlushPowder, theFlash During thecourseofprogram,presenter the ‘scientistwillshowyouhowitworks.’” cian isthatbothshowyoureallyneatthings,but that thedifference betweenascientistandmagi- he toldthekids(kindergarten through fifthgrade) newsletter, Science post fromafirst-gradeteacherregarding President fortheNorthwesternStates,quoteda Regional DeputyColoradoandnew Vice a numberofmagictricks.Mark Weidhaas, S.A.M. program and,intheprocess,explainsandexposes entertainment franchisethatisbookedasascience S Steve SpangleronScience Magic and WhyYou’re Losing BookingstoNon-Magicians Earlier thisyear, thereweresomepostson Of greaterimportance—forpurposesofthis osdrn orscienceandmagicback- Considering your hats. He’s thefounderand number ofprofessional teve Spanglerwearsa entertainer inhiscolumn Assembly 37’s Even beforeIreceivedmycopy ofour both ontelevisionandon-lineat Abracatabloid Spangler’s work hannel Store, : “Rightfromthestart, Diver into something magical. Diver something into aCartesian Steve transforms Mad Science Mad , an chises youspeakof? ence-education businessdifferent thanthefran- Q: if it’s magicorscienceaslongit’s entertaining. funny, andhasagee-whizfactor. It doesn’t matter for showmaterialthatisinteractive,amazing, paying gigsandthey’reconstantlyonthelookout These scienceentertainersarelookingforgood ple andthat’s notallbad.Here’s thebottomline: an entrepreneurialendeavor. They’re businesspeo- not fromthestandpointofaneducator, butratheras franchise ownersandoperatorsapproachthejob tion andnottherule. The vast majorityofthese background, I’dhavetosaythatthisistheexcep- franchise ownershaveasolidscienceeducation and foremostentrepreneurs. While someofthese STEVE: career? another for strugglingscientistslooking science teachersor Q: ices thatthesecompaniesoffer areinhighdemand. since “science”isatoptopicineducation,theserv- al entertainmentservices—plainandsimple. And, owned byentrepreneurswhoaresellingeducation- theme birthdayparties.Mostofthefranchisesare science classes,andawideassortmentofscience- ence assemblyprograms,before-and-after-school education companies)providesschoolswithsci- STEVE: Mad Science what canyoutellusabouttheseprograms like Q: ence beingusedtosupposedlyteachscience. shell, the U.S.andinabout25othercountries.Inanut- tion withalarge numberoffranchisesthroughout Given thescopeofyourwork,how isyoursci- Are thesepeoplewhoownfranchises That soundsfairlyominous. To startwith, Mad Science Probably amixofboth,butthey’refirst Mad Science ? to thisnewbreedofchildren’s losing bookingshandoverfist is thefactthatmagiciansare learning. Butevenmoretelling happening undertheauspicesof problem withexposureandit’s Mark iscorrect…there’s a Science commentary onthe email aboutMark Weidhaas’ messages onmyphoneand Assembly newsletter, Ihadfour tricks withnoconnectiontosci- and I’mworriedaboutmagic the ongoingexposureofmagic, entertainer. I’mworriedabout (and anumberofotherscience is aCanada-basedcorpora- assembly programs. Mad STEVE: I started my career as a science teacher at an elementary school and I got a lucky break. During my first year of teaching, I was approached by a producer at the NBC affiliate in Denver who was in the audience at a science magic show I performed earlier in the school year. The producer was creating a news magazine show called News for Kids, a weekly half-hour Saturday morning show. She liked my science demonstrations and how I worked with kids, so I got the job as the sci- ence host of the program.

Q: How long was the show on the air? STEVE: News for Kids ran from 1991 to 1997. The show was picked up for national syndication in 1993, airing in 185 cities every Saturday morning. During each season, I was responsible for 39 original segments (about three minutes long). When the show wrapped up in 1997, we had aired over 200 science magic segments.

Q: I assume that this national exposure helped to launch your career as a profession- al speaker and science education consultant. STEVE: No doubt, the publicity from the show helped my career. But the best thing that came from the show was coming up with 39 original science magic segments each season. I quickly blasted through the “A” material dur- ing the first season and then had to get serious about working on new material.

Q: Give us an example of a few of your sci- ence magic tricks from the show. STEVE: There was the “Obedient Eye Spangler amazes with a demonstration of surface tension and hydrogen Dropper” that would float and sink on com- bonding. mand in a soda bottle filled with water. It was actually an age-old science experiment called a Q: Give us a few more examples. than a clever adaptation of science. Friction and Cartesian Diver. Simply by squeezing the sides STEVE: We did lots of chemical magic some spring-loaded clips are used to hold the of the bottle, water secretly filled the eyedrop- effects, bubbling potions, optical illusions, upper pan in place. Since magicians can’t really per, making it heavy enough to sink. Releasing puzzles, brain-teasers, and many segments that do magic, they have to misdirect you with the squeeze caused it to float back up to the top. didn’t have a magic slant at all… but were things like Flash Paper, a chemically treated It’s a great science demo because it illustrates entertaining to watch (I hope). If you want paper that burns without leaving any ashes. This the concept of buoyancy and density. But the some great examples of science magic, take a gives the magician the perfect chance to put the magic component came into play when the look at Bob Friedhoffer’s huge offering of sci- lid on top of the fire, and presto! The candy viewers were taught to present it as a mental ence magic books. Bob is a great magician and appears. See, magic is nothing more than a magic trick, using your mind to cause the eye a prolific author of science magic books. bunch of scientific principles you can learn in dropper to move in the bottle (while the science school.” That’s how the show started. magician secretly squeezed the sides of the bot- Q: But this is not representative of the kind tle). Do you see how a science demo was of magic that is being exposed, right? Q: That’s how it started? You mean there turned into a piece of science magic? STEVE: Correct. Earlier this year, I attended a was more? regional convention for science teachers where STEVE: Given the preceding account, just Q: I don’t think that too many profession- a “science entertainer” shared the basic ele- imagine the scientific explanations that were al magicians are going to be upset with ments of his school assembly program with a given for the Mirror Box, the Pom-Pom Pole, you teaching people how to make a packed room of teachers (maybe 350 people). a handkerchief vanish with a Thumb Tip, and Cartesian Diver. After using a Dove Pan and some Flash Paper the Square Circle. Key phrases like “strength- STEVE: In fact, it should be just the opposite. to magically make “science candy,” he posed en critical thinking skills,” “increase scientific When you put a magic slant on a science this question to the audience members, “So, inquiry,” and “challenge students to think out- demonstration, you get the best of both worlds. how do you think that was done?” He solicited side the box” are all used to justify the expla- The kids learn how to be amazing with sci- a number of “predictions” and then proceeded nations. Remember, the science entertainer has ence. Now you know why we call our mass- to expose the workings of the Dove Pan. no vested interest in the art of magic. All of market division Be Amazing! Toys. He said, “You see, magic is nothing more these clever tricks are simply part of a bigger September 2006 MUM 69 presentation. The presenter is being paid to do a show where the kids have fun and learn about science. Unfortunately, many clients who book these shows (parents in the P.T.A., for example) base the success of the show on how much the kids laugh and cheer, and not on the science content. It’s really part of a much bigger problem in science education.

Q: Do you use these kinds of stock magi- cian’s props in your presentations? STEVE: No. When I’m hired to speak profes- sionally about science education, I use science demonstrations (not magic tricks) to illustrate many of the best practices that I’m teaching. Sure, I may incorporate showmanship that I’ve learned as a magician, but I’m doing science. If, on the other hand, I’m hired as a magician, then I do magic… but I don’t expose anything. The two are completely separate.

Q: If these science entertainers aren’t get- ting the magic ideas from you, then where are the ideas coming from? STEVE: Just as we magicians attend lectures, read magazines, and browse the internet in search of new performance material, the same holds true for the science entertainer. It’s not uncommon for these science entertainers to walk into their local magic shop or browse on- line for tricks that have a science slant.

Q: Again, can you give us some examples? STEVE: Sure. Slush powder, Insta-Snow, or any chemical magic effect is an obvious choice, but as Mark Weidhaas pointed out, the browsing doesn’t stop there. How about a Milk Pitcher, Chen-Lee Water Suspension, Coke- Go, the classic Soft Soap effect or a Change Bag? I’m sure that readers of M-U-M can immediately come up with many more exam- ples. Since magic dealers have no problem selling their secrets to the public — anyone can walk into a traditional bricks-and-mortar [Top left and clockwise] Steve produces giant rings of smoke, teaches a volun- store or buy on-line — it’s relatively easy for teer a lesson in polymer science, and shows teachers how to inflate giant bags the science entertainer to round out his or her using only one breath. show with a few great tricks that are guaran- teed to get the much needed ooohs and ahhhs. understand our age-old oath of secrecy and our the program entails. I’d say that a good science concerns about exposure, but try explaining entertainer can make between $500 and $1,500 Q: Should magicians be angry about this that to the science franchise owner/performer a day doing school shows. Typically, he’ll do an kind of exposure? who wants more material for an upcoming hour show for the kindergarten through second STEVE: Sure, it’s our natural response to be school show, material that you’re willing to sell graders and another show for the students in upset, but let me suggest that it’s our own damn to anyone willing to pay the asking price. If grades three through five, for example. I’m sure fault. As magicians we are eager to have magic exposing the Pom-Pom Pole gets a great audi- that some of these franchise owners make more shops (especially on-line stores) and sell almost ence reaction, it’s tough to resist buying the and some make less, but it’s not bad money. anything to the public. We even go so far as to prop from the magic shop no matter how much write books and star in our own DVDs that it costs. The bottom line is that this trick is Q: Steve, you have a critical eye. Are these showcase our best practices when it comes to going to make the science entertainer money. science entertainers good performers? performing the material. As long as we contin- STEVE: If they’re doing 80 to 100 schools a ue to openly sell the tricks of our trade to any- Q: You said that these science entertainers year, averaging three assemblies daily, it’s a one (that means non-magicians) with a credit could make pretty good money. How well safe bet they’re probably doing something card, we really don’t have grounds for much of are they paid? right. Let’s face it, they’re good because a complaint. STEVE: Well, it all depends on how good the they’re doing a ton of shows, they do them day Please don’t take this the wrong way. I person is, his or her celebrity status, and what after day and they’re getting paid well. Most 70 MUM September 2006 importantly, these science entertainers are in magician this year or do you want to have a science education, companies like Mad high demand because science is one of those science birthday party? It’s not fair because Science will also be competing for the same hot topics in elementary schools throughout they’re both great, but kids want to do some revenue stream. the country. cool science demos and take home their bag of slime. And parents couldn’t be happier Q: I gather that what you’re doing is differ- Q: Let’s get back to the magic aspect of the because their children want an “educational” ent. You’re not competing with these pro- show. What’s the difference between a birthday. There’s a new breed of entertainer grams. magician and a science entertainer doing a on the birthday party scene, and parents are STEVE: That’s correct. I loved the time in my school assembly? voting with their dollars. career when I specialized in doing school STEVE: The most important distinction assemblies — nearly 3,700 over a span of 12 between the science entertainer and a profes- Q: Are you saying that magicians who do years. During that time, I made lots of toilet sional magician lies in what happens after birthday parties need to make slime in paper fly, shot smoke rings from a giant trash the trick is performed. The magician con- order to get more bookings? can and caused lots of bottles of soda to erupt cludes the effect to a nice round of applause STEVE: No, but I am saying that you need using Mentos candy (yes, that’s me). Now, my and segues into his next effect. The science to be aware of other performers and the serv- focus is on training teachers. The primary mis- entertainer, on the other hand, poses this ices they offer. Magicians will always do sion of my staff development business is to question to his audience: “So, do you want to birthday parties, and the great children’s teach science teachers how to be better teach- know how this works?” Applause is replaced entertainers will always be in high demand. ers. I’m calling on my background as a profes- with screams of yes! as the science entertain- But thanks to the current state of elementary sional educator, as a chemist, as a teacher in er proceeds to share the science behind the secret. I use the term “science” in the loosest sense because anything can fall under the auspices of teaching science.

Q: Do most of these science entertainers expose magic tricks as part of their presen- tation? STEVE: I think that it’s difficult to really define the magnitude of the problem because of the tremendous growth in this area of chil- dren’s entertainment. Again, as long as anyone can go into a magic shop or an on-line store and purchase our closely guarded secrets, they will do with them whatever they wish. I’ll say it again… it doesn’t matter if these so-called science entertainers perform the trick well or not. The entertainment value they seek comes from the explanation and not the presentation.

Q: Can you provide some perspective on what’s going on in science education right now and why schools are hiring science entertainers. STEVE: As everyone knows, education is always in a state of change, but science educa- tion is going through some incredible changes. Reading, writing, and math are always impor- tant subjects, while science and social studies have taken a back seat for many years. Well, the tide has turned and science education is in the spotlight. Whatever gets tested gets meas- ured, and educators are scrambling to find ways to make science attractive to students. Here’s the sad part… kids are literally begging to do more science in school, and teachers just don’t have the time needed to really let their students do lots of hands-on science.

Q: So that’s why these programs are so pop- ular with kids both in school and at home? STEVE: You got it. Thanks to depriving chil- dren of getting to do hands-on science in school, they’re begging for it at their birthday Spangler has a unique way of combining his love of magic with a career as parties. Let’s see… do you want to have the a science educator and television personality. September 2006 MUM 71 the classroom for eleven years. This is what I problem worse. Because all of a sudden, now Q: You’re really saying that tricks don’t do for a living as a trainer and speaker. I teach all the people who are out there doing it make the science teacher. teachers to be better teachers based on my already are going out and getting more magic STEVE: Teachers go through a lot to become background and experience as an educator. tricks until you start seeing some science guy a great teacher. Amazing teachers are not built produce a bowling ball from a tablet of paper on a bag of tricks. Amazing teachers take what Q: Where does your training as a magician and expose the gimmick on the back of the they know and turn it into a teaching moment. come into the picture? tablet. And it’s getting to that point. My job is to prepare the next generation STEVE: I learned how to captivate a person’s We need to teach teachers how to be better so that you and I can have a quality of life in attention using magic. I retirement that we think is learned how to draw someone good and that we have a plan- in and pique curiosity using et that we want to live on that magic. But I had to make a has natural resources that conscious decision not to use haven’t been expended. The traditional magic props like a world is a better place because Change Bag or a Milk Pitcher we taught kids how to wonder to teach science. That’s not and discover and explore. teaching science… that’s doing That’s the kicker. a trick for the sole purpose of entertaining kids. My mission Q: What suggestions do you is to teach teachers how to use have for magicians in this their tools of the trade to magic vs. science debate? engage students and to chal- STEVE: We need to figure out lenge their inquisitive nature. how to help these science demonstrators stay in their Q: You grew up in a family role and not keep stealing of magicians, didn’t you? ideas and tricks from the Both your parents have been magic world. doing magic professionally I hope this interview stimu- for many years and your lates some conversation about dad, Bruce, is perhaps best magic and science, on SAM- known as the creator of You- Talk, on blogs, in letters to the Do Voodoo, the original editor, whatever. For example, Needle Through Arm effect as a magic community, what that Harry Anderson made are we going to do about the famous on TV. Can you people who — free of charge, share some of that back- with no membership dues, no ground? requirements — can go any- STEVE: I recall going to my place online or to any store first magic convention in 1972, and buy any trick they want a P.C.A.M. convention in for any purpose they want? Hawaii. I have been surround- That’s what we’re seeing now. ed my entire life with people Steve presented his now-famous Mentos & Diet Coke experi- The better the presentation, who always knew how to be ment to a group of teachers in Vienna. Learn the secret at the more likely it is to show up amazing. More and more, I www.stevespanglerscience.com. in a school show. started playing around with And I contend it’s not their chemical magic and being inspired by my dad teachers of science. One of the vehicles we’re fault. Don’t get mad at the science teacher or who was doing all the chemical magic back in using is magic to rekindle that childlike enthu- science demonstrator. Yes, between you and the ’70s. I remember going to the Midwest siasm that a teacher once had for learning and me and our code of ethics, it’s wrong. But Magic Jubilee when I was probably seven or get them to the point where they want to teach they didn’t sign any code of ethics. They eight years old and my parents had a booth in more science. We want to rekindle the love of don’t belong to the S.A.M. They don’t the dealers room. I was pouring Think Ink or teaching in teachers, not create more assem- adhere to ethics that we take so seriously. dad’s famous Switcheroo behind the demo blies that are out in the market and performers They’re making a living. Their job is to find table with my little sister. The booth was who are just doing science tricks. the next greatest science demonstration, always swamped with people because it was If we don’t do that, teachers can never live whether it’s from watching someone on tele- so different. I was hooked on science magic at up to the great expectations that a performer vision, or streaming something on video, or an early age. who’s doing magic can. The teacher will going to a workshop or seeing a magician never have a Change Bag, never do Torn-and- perform. If they think they can make a tie-in, Q: What’s your greatest fear with regard to Restored Newspaper, never go make Clippo they will. And that’s what they’re doing. this science magic debate? or have a Milk Pitcher. But they will have As magicians, the ball is in our court. What STEVE: I’m afraid magicians are going to simple things like Elmer’s Glue and Borax we do next will have a huge impact on the wide- say, “Hmmm, my school show bookings and learn how to make slime. We’re just spread appeal of these kinds of programs. I aren’t that good. I’m going to be a science teaching teachers how to present that in such invite you to share your thoughts with me on my guy.” So they run out and start doing that. If a way that makes it educational and entertain- blog at http://www.stevespangler.com/ O they do that, they will just make this whole ing and makes kids want to learn more. 72 MUM September 2006