Robert Gardner - The Science Behind Magic Science Projects

Can You Be a Magician?

Amaze and astonish your friends with these magical experiments! Show them a Ping-Pong ball that defies gravity, make a glass disappear, or put a hole in your hand. These experiments will appear to be magic to your audience. But by doing your magic you will learn the scientific principles behind each magic trick. The ideas introduced in this book, along with details of the scientific method, will help you to perform challenging, educational, and fun science fair projects!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Robert Gardner is an award-winning author of science books for young people. He is a retired high school teacher of physics, chemistry, and physical science. In 2010, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award in Hands-On Science Writing from AAAS/Subaru Science Books & Films.

Most of us enjoy a good magic show. This book is filled with projects that appear to be magic, but it is not the magic performed by stage magicians. You will not learn how to hide items in your palm or use trapdoors to make people emerge mysteriously from a trunk. These puzzling tricks are not necessary to have magic happen. Nature provides its own mystery. The magic you will do is much easier than the magic performed by magicians on a stage. All you have to do is put the right things together at the right time. Nature will take care of the rest and put on a magic show. Nevertheless, you can use what you learn to entertain friends and family. You might even organize a show and bring both science and entertainment to a number of audiences. You should practice all experiments before performing a show.

In doing these experiments, which will appear to be magic to the people who watch your show, you will learn a lot of science. Each bit of magic is based on a scientific principle. You will come to understand why things that can seem so mysterious to someone who observes your experiments, are really nothing more than natural events based on scientific principles.

Most of the materials you will need to carry out your projects can be found in your home, a hardware store, or a supermarket. For a few of the experiments, you may want to ask to borrow an item or two from your schools science department. If the schools policy prevents your teachers from letting you take equipment home, you can probably carry out these projects at school during your free time.

For some of the activities, you may need one or more people to help you. It would be best if you work with friends or adults who enjoy science as much as you do. In that way, you will all enjoy what you are doing. If any project involves the risk of injury, it will be clearly stated in the text. In some cases, to avoid any danger, you will be asked to work with an adult. Please do so. We do not want you to take any chances that could harm you.

Like a good scientist, you will find it useful to record your ideas, notes, data, and anything you conclude from these projects in a notebook. By doing so, you can keep track of the information you gather and the conclusions you reach. Record keeping will allow you to refer to what you have done, and that may help you in doing other projects.

If the rules of a particular science fair allow for projects that have a magical flavor, you may be able to adapt some of the material in this book to create an entry. But even if the rules do not allow such projects, some of the Exploring on Your Own suggestions that follow experiments with a trophy symbol () can lead to projects that would be appropriate for a science fair.

Bear in mind, however, that judges at science fairs do not reward projects or experiments that are simply copied from a book. Plugging numbers into a formula you do not understand will not impress judges. A graph of data collected from experiments you have done that is used to find a relationship between two variables would be more likely to receive serious consideration.

Science fair judges reward creative thought and imagination. It is difficult to be creative or imaginative unless you are really interested in your project. Consequently, be sure to choose a subject that appeals to you. And before you jump into a project, consider, too, your own talents and the cost of materials you will need.

If you decide to use a project found in this book for a science fair, you should find ways to modify or extend it. This should not be difficult, because you will probably discover that as you do these projects, ideas for new experiments will come to mind. These experiments could make excellent science fair projects, particularly because the ideas are your own and are interesting to you.

If you decide to enter a science fair and have never done so before, you should read some of the books listed in the Further Reading. These books deal specifically with science fairs. They will provide plenty of helpful hints and useful information that will enable you to avoid the pitfalls that sometimes plague first-time entrants. You will learn how to prepare appealing reports that include charts and graphs, how to set up and display your work, how to present your project, and how to relate to judges and visitors.

Most of the projects included in this book are perfectly safe. However, the following safety rules are well worth reading before you start any project.

1. Do any experiments or projects, whether from this book or of your own design, under the supervision of a science teacher or other knowledgeable adult.
2. Read all instructions carefully before proceeding with a project. If you have questions, check with your supervisor before going further.
3. Maintain a serious attitude while conducting experiments. Fooling around can be dangerous to you and to others.
4. Wear approved safety goggles when you are working with a flame or doing anything that might cause injury to your eyes.
5. Do not eat or drink while experimenting.
6. Have a first-aid kit nearby while you are experimenting.
7. Do not put your fingers or any object other than properly designed electrical connectors into electrical outlets.
8. Never experiment with household electricity except under the supervision of a knowledgeable adult.
9. Do not touch a lit high-wattage bulb. Lightbulbs produce light, but they also produce heat.
10. Many substances are poisonous. Do not taste them unless instructed to do so.
11. If a thermometer breaks, inform your adult supervisor. Do not touch either the mercury or the broken glass with your bare hands.

When scientists have a question to answer, they start by researching. They read scientific literature and consult online science databases that are maintained by universities, research centers, or the government. There, they can study abstractssummaries of reportsby scientists who have conducted experiments or done similar research in the field.

In this way, they find out whether other scientists have examined the same question or have tried to answer it by doing an experiment. Careful research will tell what kind of experiments, if any, have been done to try to answer the question.

Scientists dont want to repeat experiments that have known and accepted outcomes. Also, they want to avoid repeating any mistakes others may have made while doing similar experiments. If no one else has done scientific work that answers the question, scientists then do further research on how best to do the experiment.

While researching for the experiment, the scientist tries to guessor predictthe possible results. This prediction is called a hypothesis.