On April 28, the Kolmar Avenue Elementary gym transformed from a standard PE space into a high-energy laboratory. Students were treated to a hair-raising assembly featuring the "very amazing" Professor Rick, whose hands-on demonstrations proved that science is just as much about spectacle as it is about study. The presentation kicked off with a lesson on the behavior of light, where Professor Rick used a "dunk test" to show how glass can seemingly vanish when submerged in oil. He explained to the captivated audience that because of refraction—the way light bends as it passes through different materials—the oil and glass can be made to blend together. The gym went wild when Professor Rick pulled the test tubes back out, revealing that there weren’t just one or two, but nine hidden tubes hiding in plain sight! Best of all, he gave the Coyotes a "secret recipe" for how they could recreate similar experiments safely in their own kitchens.
The energy in the room reached a literal fever pitch during the Van de Graaff generator demonstration. After explaining how the "blue box" builds up a massive negative static charge, Professor Rick invited brave student and teacher volunteers to the stage to test out the power of electricity. As the volunteers touched the machine, the negative charge grew until their hair began to stand straight up, reaching for the ceiling! The thinner the hair, the more dramatic the effect, resulting in some truly "crazy" styles that had the whole school laughing and cheering.
To close out the afternoon, the assembly shifted from physics to chemistry. Using hydrogen peroxide and a catalyst, Professor Rick led a group of student scientists in creating a massive chemical "volcano." As the foam erupted across the stage, the student participants noticed something surprising: the reaction produced a significant amount of heat. This exothermic reaction left the young scientists shocked and excited to learn more about how different elements interact. From disappearing glass to standing hair, it was a day to remember. It’s safe to say that after Professor Rick’s visit, every student left the gym a little more curious about the world around them.
