Hands on Science Holiday Fun!
“A Morning of Science Experiments” also available.
The Magical Science Show
The Magical Science Show is a Science Show with a difference!
Your host, MrJoe as The Science Wizard, will take you on magical journey of science concepts and conundrums. Be astounded at the amazing world we take for granted. Challenge your perceptions, review your assumptions, and have fun while learning science!
The goal of the show is to essentially “Outwit the Wizard”, who, as a spurious authority, challenges students (and parents) to create scientific understandings for themselves. Students will engage with real science thinking as they first create explanations of why things happen, and then create ways to test those explanations, just like scientists do everyday.
This show is designed to focus on the Working Scientifically strand of the Curriculum. As a qualified teacher, I make sure all presentations cater to the learning outcomes of a each age group. This show is especially entertaining to younger age groups, and combines science teaching with performance (doesn’t it always?) and makes good use of magic to educate.
Students will study the Returning Roller, explain the Mystery of the baby Snitch, and witness the extraordinary power of powdered Troll Bones! They might also get a change to meet Lucky and Magic, my two magic pet mice. (Please note, show program does not include hands on time)
What people think of the Magic of Science show:
“We all really appreciated Mr Joe’s interesting, entertaining, as well as educational show! The children were fully engaged from beginning to end! Thanks!” Karen, QUT CCC Castledine
“All effective in keeping children’s interests. The FUN element.” Teacher, Morningside SS
“I thought it was an excellent show. ” Rawinia, 12.
Booking Requirements
Shows will run from around 45 to 55 minutes, so an hour is usually allotted to include class travel time. On the day I request a single room to work from due to the large amount of equipment that I bring. It is helpful if this room has a wet area (we tend to spill things, and set other things on fire), and it requires working power points and good ventilation: air conditioning is highly recommended (especially in summer). Depending on the acoustics, a microphone may also be necessary. Needless to say, I require teachers to be present at all times, and parents and other grown up helpers are always warmly welcomed!
Program objectives:
- To promote scientific ways of thinking through fun and edutainment.
- To encourage safe, sensible practices in doing science
- To demonstrate practical concepts in science, such as air pressure, static electricity and perception.
Show details
Go to ‘book a show’ for show prices today!
A quick note on using Magic tricks to teach science.
I believe that there is a knowable reason why everything happens in the world. I use magic tricks to challenge assumptions, to highlight the amazing among the mundane, to re-awakening curiosity with the “How did that happen!?” reflex too often crowded out of learners through unchallenging and boring science lessons.
This show involves the deconstruction of magic. It uses magic to remind our sometimes complacent minds that there is much we have yet to understand about the world. I do not use magic to deceive, I do not condone nor subtly advocate occult practices, nor do I claim as a magician to have mystical powers. Instead, I use conundrums and contradictions to challenge students and teachers to find out how I do the magic tricks and share that knowledge freely with each other. Some of the great discoveries of today, and the ideas that helped create them, would surely seem magical to people from the past, such as cars, plains and computers. Sadly, most peoples understandings of how these inventions operate equates to little more than ‘As if by Magic!” Just like the great scientific discoveries of the past, such knowledge is not always easily won by students. As students of science we must re-construct the great theories of science for ourselves before we can truly understand them.
The goal in the show therefore is not only to learn some fascinating science facts and ideas, but also to learn how to become better learner of science. The scientific generation of knowledge is an interesting and entertaining activity that all students need to understand and can be valuable contributors to, now and in their adult life.