Demos for Science in the Pub
Gosh! I completely forgot that I was going to post about this. At the Science in the Pub event recently, Jenny and I were responsible for the half time entertainment. Because of all the stuff we do with the Demo Troupe, we decided that we would do some demos. So, we bought ourselves an Airzooka - a brilliant little toy that shoots a “vortex” of air across the room which has enough force to mess up hair, knock over Coke cans, etc. It works on the same principle as blowing a smoke ring (not that I smoke!!!) and is also related to tornados and the like. I ran around shooting people during the break, then we explained the physics of it when we got back together.
To further show off the powerr of air, we also bought ourselves a Windbag. Using simple physics, you can blow up a large bag using a single breath of air - you make the rest of the atmosphere help you literally push air into the bag, rather than blowing it in yourself. It was a real hoot - and of course lots of “full of hot air” jokes followed.
Everyone seemed really pleased by the demos (phew!) and I met some really interesting people from the Australian Science Communicators which I’m really looking forward to doing more with in the future. One possibility is training students interested in science communication on how to do demos and to perform them entertainingly. I’ve seen brilliant demos ruined by a lack luster performance - but I’ve also seen some rather “boring” demos become the centrepiece of our shows through a great performance. I really do think that the most important thing is the presentation - if you get that right, then everything else will follow. And of course this applies to more than just physics! 