Steve Spangler

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Steve Spangler shows a do it yourself experiment with a Cartesian diver

Steve Spangler is an author, professional speaker, two-time Emmy Award winner, Time 100 nominee, science teacher, founder of two companies, toy maker and trained magician.[1] He is most famous for the widely popular experiment of dropping a Mentos into a bottle of Diet Coke, with the end result being a huge geyser of Diet Coke.

Television and media

Since starting his television career, Steve Spangler has appeared in over 240 television shows,[2] featuring as an "authority on inquiry-based learning". Every week he is watched by over a million viewers on KUSA-TV (9News) as their "science guy". He also appeared frequently on Weather + Plus University NBC Weather Plus. Spangler was also the science host on the nationally syndicated show News for Kids. And, in 1997, Spangler won an Emmy Award for his role in the show.[3] Spangler was awarded a second Emmy in 2010.[4]

Spangler was nominated for a position in the Time 100, however he didn't attain a final placing in the magazine. In a public poll on Time's website Spangler secured the 18th position,[5] edging out over Brad Pitt and Barack Obama (19th and 20th respectively), but losing to Howard Stern at 17th.[6] The main reason for him being nominated was for popularizing the Mentos eruption (see below). Spangler has never been on the cover of Time magazine, nor in a Time 100 list.[5]

Steve Spangler is also a regular recurring guest [7] on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where he demonstrates experiments, often with audience participation.

In October 2011, YouTube announced that Steve Spangler was selected as one of 100 initial partners[8] for its new YouTube Original Channels and thus would receive a portion of a $100 million fund set aside for the production of new original programming.[9] The channel The Spangler Effect debuted February 1, 2012.[10]

Education work

Spangler is the director of the National Hands-on Science Institute, based in Denver, Colorado. Spangler's role as director means he is responsible for the coordination of 850 staff training in the US. The institute also sponsors a summer camp in Aspen Creek School, Broomfield, for both teachers and children. The teachers are taught various fun type science experiments in the morning and then show the children those experiments in the afternoon. Spangler said: "This is the only teacher training model of its kind in the country." [11]

Spangler acts as a consultant for Littleton Public Schools, Colorado. There he helps students get motivated and more interested in the hands-on aspect of science.

Each summer, Spangler holds his famous "Science in the Rockies" for teachers, which is far more than merely a conference; here, he truly does "teach teachers to be amazing!" Spangler Science also offers its "Science at Sea" cruise, and does interactive workshops all over the states.

Steve Spangler also offers parents and teachers a free science experiment each week, sent straight to an email inbox, as a free service. Spangler's Experiment of the Week has become very popular with homeschooling parents, as well. Steve recently went on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and was the science guy with air blowers[12]

In 2009, Spangler's conducted the "World's Largest Physics Lesson" at Coor's Field.[13]

Commercial work

Spangler is the founder of Englewood-based Steve Spangler Science and Be Amazing! Toys , which is the wholesale division of Steve Spangler Science. He has since sold Be Amazing Toys. He is the CEO of the online and catalog based company, Steve Spangler Science and is the creative director of Be Amazing! Toys which has designed and developed more than 50 scientific toys and products for Scholastic, Discovery Channel, Toys "R" Us, Target, etc.[1] Steve Spangler Science has fifteen employees.

Spangler is the author of three books: "Fizz Factor: 50 Amazing Experiments With Soda Pop","Secret Science: 25 Science Experiments Your Teacher Doesn't Know About", and "Naked Eggs and Flying Potatoes," winner of the 2011 Gelett Burgess Children's Book Award.

In 2005 Steve Spangler sued award-winning Seattle-based company, Scientific Explorer Inc. for re-branding and reselling Spangler's products and for failing to meet contractual agreements. Steve Spangler Science and Scientific Explorer had previously had a contract together for Scientific Explorer to manufacture, package, market and sell various products developed by Spangler. But the contract finished three years later in August 2004 and was never renewed. In the contract, Scientific Explorer were to give Spangler 10% sales royalty each sales quarter, Spangler said that they failed to pay him on the last two sales quarters before the contract expired. On a plane to Denver, Colorado, Spangler opened a toy package he had bought at the airport called Growing Giant Dinos, the same toy that Spangler was selling called Test Tube Dinos. Fizz, Bobble, Erupt was resold by Scientific Explorer as Bubbling Potions, Extreme Glow re-branded Atomic Glow and Crazy Crystals was renamed Wild Crystals, according to Spangler.[14]

Mentos eruption

Diet Coke and Mentos geyser.
Main article: Diet Coke and Mentos eruption

When Spangler was an elementary school science teacher in the 1980s he initially used Life Savers for the Mentos eruption experiment. Spangler initiated the huge Internet phenomenon when he appeared on 9News in 2002 and 2005, both times showcasing the experiment. A video of his September 2005[15] appearance, which resulted in one of the anchors being drenched in Coke, was placed on their website and Spangler wrote a blog post about it.[16] The video was posted online on the popular video sharing site, YouTube, which resulted in hundreds of other videos being posted. As of 2007, YouTube had over 12,000 similar videos.[17]

Along with his Be Amazing Toys! company, Spangler sold a device allowing kids to reproduce the experiment.[18]

Spangler says that the Mentos eruption is not his best trick but "It's the trick that got the most notoriety."[19]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Julia Ann Charpentier Steve Spangler Science Has the Magic Touch Retrieved January 5, 2007.
  2. ↑ Steve Spangler Steve Spangler bio. Retrieved January 2, 2007.
  3. ↑ 1997 Emmy Award Winners Retrieved November 21, 2012
  4. ↑ 2010 Emmy Award Winners Retrieved November 21, 2012
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Steve Spangler nomination page. Accessed May 10, 2007.
  6. ↑ Your Time 100. Accessed on May 10, 2007.
  7. ↑ Spangler on the Ellen DeGeneres Show Retrieved November 21, 2012
  8. ↑ YouTube Announces TV Initiative With 100 Niche Channels Retrieved November 21, 2012
  9. ↑ YouTube Tees Up Big Talent Retrieved November 21, 2012
  10. ↑ The Spangler Effect to Debut on New YouTube Channel February 1st Retrieved November 21, 2012
  11. ↑ Kathy Sabine Steve Spangler Science: Summer Science Camp Retrieved January 5, 2007.
  12. ↑ Subscribe at Steve Spangler Science
  13. ↑ "Largest Physics Lesson - Guinness World Records Blog post - Home of the Longest, Shortest, Fastest, Tallest facts and feats". Community.guinnessworldrecords.com. Retrieved 2012-08-04. 
  14. ↑ Greg Griffin "A formula for frustration: 'Mad scientist' sues, alleging theft of concepts" Denver Post
  15. ↑ Mentos + soda + video + blog = Cha-ching!. Published on February 23, 2007 by InternetRetailer. Accessed on April 17, 2007.
  16. ↑ Steve Spangler Blog post Retrieved January 2, 2007.
  17. ↑ Science toy e-retailer sets off blog geyser of publicity. Published by InternetRetailer on March 27, 2007. Accessed on April 17, 2007. He called himself stupid because he thought the experiment wouldn't work!
  18. ↑ Caroline McCarthy: Toy Fair '07: Is it cool to like science now? by [CNET News.com]. Published February 13, 2007. Accessed February 15, 2007
  19. ↑ Al Lewis Mentos-soda mix a mint for scientist Retrieved January 2, 2007.

External links


You can subscribe to Steve's channel if you click the links to your right http://www.youtube.com/user/stevespanglerscience http://www.youtube.com/user/thespanglereffect

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