Get engaged with Steve the Science Guy
QUANTUM: The Exhibition isn’t just an exhibition: Additional programming, such as The Quantum Dialogues, will serve to inspire and enlighten.
“Science has always been fun for kids — if it wasn’t fun for kids it’s because an adult messed it up,” said Emmy award-winning TV personality Steve Spangler, also known as the ‘Science Guy’ from the Ellen Show.
Spangler will join THEMUSEUM for a special presentation entitled, “EXPLODING SODA AND FLYING POTATOES: An Evening of Science with Steve Spangler” on November 30.
And he’s changing the dialogue to make science fun for parents and educators, too. Like any Spangler presentation, he’ll offer up hands-on demos, a bit of humour and a couple of ‘ooh and ahh’ moments — for kids and adults alike.
“These are the influencers that have a far greater reach with our children today,” he said. “The teacher is the catalyst but the parent is able to continue this conversation and nurture this and water this and watch it grow.”
While Spangler isn’t a quantum physicist, he’s a science cheerleader who’s known for his fun, accessible approach to science. He started his career as a teacher, and remembers a class where he taught scientific principles by blowing up pumpkins and creating bubbling concoctions for Halloween. A parent came to him the next day and said: “You have my daughter’s undivided attention. Now do something with it.”
That message has stayed with him. “We work so hard with exhibits like this — now there has to be a call of action,” said Spangler. “We have to do that in education and make sure there are additional resources.” The goal of QUANTUM: The Exhibition is to make quantum science accessible to people of all ages, to start a dialogue and to inspire a new way of thinking.
“This exhibit will allow people to walk away with a basic understanding about what is meant by quantum physics,” he said. “The engagement they have on the museum floor will build connections in mind and they in turn can share that experience with someone else.”
Of course, it doesn’t mean every person who visits the exhibit will become a quantum physicist. “You don’t have to be a physicist or scientist to appreciate it,” said Spangler. “But when an exhibit can cause you to think differently, to disorient you a little bit, you don’t realize it but you’re already engaged.”