Halloween Fun with Steve Spangler Science

I don’t usually drag my hubby along to blogging events, because, to be quite honest, he doesn’t really GET social media. He may not be a blogger, but he is a huge Halloween enthusiast, as our friends and neighbors can attest to. Paul has been brainstorming ideas for some new props to scare the kiddos this year, and when I was graciously invited to check out all the brand new Halloween stuff during a “Blogger Playdate” last week at Steve Spangler Science, I figured he’d be all over it. He was. And Julie Gintzler made the presentation SO much fun.

Before I show you all the amazeballs stuff Steve and his staff of rockstar science geeks have dreamed up, I MUST share this short video with you. This is my husband trying out a balloon of what I can only describe as reverse-helium. It’s called sulfur hexafluoride, and I can’t tell you the science behind it, but it makes your voice unnaturally deep – and it sure did entertain a table full of giggly women! Can I get my hands on some of this? I think it would be excellent at parties. I’m just saying.

After the Darth Vader-esque icebreaker, we had a blast doing lots of hands-on experiments resulting in some pretty creepy, Halloween-appropriate stuff! First of all, Julie instructed us to place our hands in a towel-obscured container, reminiscent of the spaghetti-as-veins-in-a-bowl stuff you may remember from Halloween parties as a child. We all reached into the cold liquid to find slippery, squishy little balls – just like I imagine a big bowl of eyeballs would probably feel! When we were all appropriately squicked out, Julie asked us to remove the towels and take a look at what we just touched – and imagine our freakin’ SHOCK to see bins of clear water! ::cue Scooby Doo music:: What we were actually feeling was Jelly Marbles – tiny little orbs that grow hundreds of times their size when soaked in liquid, and since they have the same index refraction as water, they pretty much completely disappear when submerged in it. Super cool.

Continuing with the creepy squishy things, we went on to our next activity – Atomic Insta-Worms! This stuff was a blast. A tiny spoonful of “worm activator” stirred into water, then a squirt of Atomic Worm Goo – and, voila. Like the name promises, instant, creepy-as-hell, brightly colored worms! These glow crazy under a black light, too!

We also got to check out heat-sensitive color changing worms, too. And for Halloween, they’ve taken Insta-Worms to the next level with Vampire Veins, which are a sickly green color on the outside and a blood-like red on the inside, and Atomic Slime, which just about destroyed my sensory-impaired hubby. ::shudder:: So gross. Science is cool. And it turns a table of adults into a bunch of 5th graders in a hurry, let me tell ya.

Here’s one more vid of Melissa and Sarah trying out their monster voices for Halloween!

Check out Steve Spangler Science on Facebook and Twitter, and visit their website at http://stevespangler.com to find lots of the stuff I mentioned here. Some of the brand new Halloween items aren’t yet available, but I think they will be in the days to come! We had such a blast. Many thanks to Steve, Julie, and of course our friend Susan Wells for hosting such a fabulous blogger playdate!

Possibly Related

• October 21, 2012 -- Zombie Crawl
• November 21, 2011 -- Seminar for Denver Autism Parents
• October 11, 2011 -- Pumpkin day!
• March 25, 2011 -- A first for us – Disney on Ice!
• October 21, 2010 -- Yo Gabba Gabba Live in Denver – Ticket Giveaway!