Abracadabra… It’s Magic!

Harry Houdini was a Hungarian-American magician and escapologist, stunt performer, actor and film producer. One of his most famous publicity stunts was to escape from a nailed and roped packing crate after it had been lowered into the water.

Houdini first performed the escape in New York's East River in July 1912. Because the police would not allow him to use a local pier, Houdini hired a tugboat. He invited members of the press on board. Houdini was locked in handcuffs and leg-irons, and then he stepped into a crate. The crate was nailed shut and ropes were wrapped around the crate. The crate was weighed with two hundred pounds of lead and lowered into water. Houdini escaped in fifty-seven seconds!

Houdini swam back to tugboat and when he arrived at the pier, he was fully dressed in his street clothes. The crate was pulled to the surface and found to still be intact with the handcuffs inside. Houdini would perform this escape many times, and even performed a version on stage, first at Hammerstein’s Roof Garden (where a 5,500-gallon tank was specially built), and later at the New York Hippodrome.

Want to know more about the magic behind magic? Come to the Museum of Discovery’s special event ABRACADABRA, July 1-3, 2010. Local magicians will perform at (look up showtimes on website).

The Science of Fireworks

Happy Independence Day, America!

To celebrate the Fourth of July, here is some fun information about fireworks.

What are fireworks made of? In their simplest form, fireworks consist of black powder, or gun powder, wrapped in paper, with a fuse.

What makes the fireworks go up so high? The amount of black powder and the length of the “time fuse” fuse determines how high the shell will go and when it will explode. What makes the fireworks explode? When the firework reaches the desired height, the time fuses lights the bursting charge. This releases the fine metal powders of the stars in all directions based on the way the shell was packed and this charge lights the outside of the stars, which begin to burn with bright showers of sparks.

What makes the fireworks light up? The bright white light is given off by the chemical element, magnesium. This happens when the magnesium is suddenly exposed to oxygen which causes it to burn. Other elements can be used such as aluminum, titanium, zinc, or iron. The electrons in these metal particles become hot and excited, giving off light, called photons. Different metals give off different colors of light.

Why are fireworks so loud? There may also be chemicals that make crackles or whistles. After bursting, the display may last for about 5 seconds. The tremendous booms that you hear are made of the rapid release of energy into the air. This air expands faster than the speed of sound and produces a shock wave called a sonic boom. Flash powder makes the noise.

Who knew something so magical could so scientific?

Happy Father's Day!

This Sunday is Father’s Day.
Let's all cheer for fathers.
It's the 100th anniversary of their day!

Like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day has a modern origin. The idea came to Mrs. John Dodd as she listened to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909. She proposed to the Spokane Ministerial Association and the YMCA that they celebrate a “father’s day.”

The first Father’s Day was observed on June 19, 1910, in Spokane, and soon other towns had their own celebrations. Father’s Day became a permanent national holiday in 1972.

Contributed by Angela Burgess, former employee of the Museum and still a friend of the Museum of Discovery! Thanks Angi!

Fireflies, by McKenzie

Fireflies
Bright fun
Flying, glowing, loving
My hands for them
Lightning bugs.
-McKenzie

Reaching the Key

Look for a fun activity called "REACHING THE KEY" in the June 2010 issue of LIFE IN CHENAL. Below are some follow-up activities linked to Reaching the Key

Questions to Think about and Ask:• How is the building of this structure similar to the building of a real structure?
• Do you notice any similar shapes in the various structures created by the class?
• What surprised you as you were building?
• What strategies seemed to work best for building the structure?

Career Connection:
Structural Engineers design and construct large buildings called skyscrapers. Wouldn't it be exciting to see a building you designed as a structural engineer towering above you in New York, Chicago, or San Francisco?

Assess What Happened:
What are the different ways to solve Alice's dilemma of being too small to reach the table?

Curriculum Connection:
"The [science and technology] standard includes abilities of technological design; [students] identify a simple problem, propose a solution, implement proposed solutions, evaluate a product design, [and] communicate a problem, design, and solution." (NSES Standard)

VISIT ALICE'S WONDERLAND...going on NOW at the Museum of Discovery!