Science fairs aren’t necessarily considered a huge attraction when it comes to choosing weekend family entertainment.
But Colorado State University’s popular Little Shop of Physics event has been bucking that stereotype for 19 years by drawing thousands of fans of hands-on experiments.
The university open house today from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. goes off with the help of nearly 100 volunteers who run approximately 200 science exhibits. This year’s theme is “Put a Spin on It,” and will highlight several weather-related exhibits and experiments.
“Much of our weather patterns are due largely to the fact that the Earth spins,” says Brian Jones, CSU physics professor and director of Little Shop of Physics. “So for one exhibit we use a humidifier and a fan, and when you spin them you can create a tornado.”
Jones compares the event to a science museum, but with a one-day availability.
Planning for the event began in December. It’s taken this long to prepare all the science projects, both new and returning favorites.
“We have several (experiments) that are always popular,” says Jones. “Like ‘Intravenous Infrared,’ which goes through your skin, so you can see your blood moving inside your veins.”
Another exhibit allows visitors to become the electric conduit between a plasma ball and a light bulb. And every year, the liquid- nitrogen ice cream is a big hit.
All the standard ice cream ingredients — sugar, milk, cream, flavoring — are blended together and cooled with liquid nitrogen.
“It creates a fog, and we use this giant spoon,” Jones says. “It really makes a spectacle, and then we have enough ice cream for a couple hundred people.”
The event draws families and science geeks of all ages, with a large number of elementary and middle school kids on the lookout for extra school credit. With so many available experiments, all presented in a safe and inviting environment, the hope is to encourage children to really explore the world of science.
“Kids are just natural experimenters,” Jones says. “We teach them to try to do things differently and put their own spin on it, and that’s science.”
“Little Shop of Physics” is today from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Lory Student Center (southwest corner of Laurel Street and Meridian Avenue) on the Colorado State University campus in Fort Collins. For more details visit .
