Static Electricity - Van de Graaff Generator

Published 2011-01-14

About Steve Spangler Science...

Steve Spangler is a celebrity teacher, science toy designer, speaker, author and an Emmy award-winning television personality. Spangler is probably best known for his Mentos and Diet Coke geyser experiment that went viral in 2005 and prompted more than 1,000 related YouTube videos. Spangler is the founder of www.SteveSpanglerScience.com, a Denver-based company specializing in the creation of science toys, classroom science demonstrations, teacher resources and home for Spangler's popular science experiment archive and video collection. Spangler is a frequent guest on the Ellen DeGeneres Show where he takes classroom science experiments to the extreme. Check out his pool filled with 2,500 boxes of cornstarch!

Cool Science Toys - www.SteveSpanglerScience.com/
Sign up for the Experiment of the Week - www.stevespanglerscience.com/e...
Watch Spangler's Science Videos - www.stevespanglerscience.com/v...
Attend a Spangler Hands-on Science Workshop for Teachers - www.stevespanglerscience.com/t...
Visit Spangler's YouTube Channel - youtube.com/stevespanglers...

Join the conversation on Steve Spangler's blog - www.SteveSpangler.com/

Additional Information:

On the education side, Spangler started his career as a science teacher in the Cherry Creek School district for 12 years. Today, Steve travels extensively training teachers in ways to make learning more engaging and fun. His hands-on science boot camps and summer institutes for teachers inspire and teach teachers how to prepare a new generation for an ever-changing work force. Over the last 15 years, he has also made more than 500 television appearances as an authority on hands-on science and inquiry-based learning.

On the business side, Spangler is the founder and CEO of Steve Spangler Science, a Denver-based company specializing in the creation of educational toys and kits and hands-on science training services for teachers. The companys unique business strategies and viral creations have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Inc. Magazine, Wired and TIME Magazine where online readers voted Steve Spangler #18 in the Top 100 Most Influential People of the Year for 2006 (what were they thinking?). You'll find more than 140 Spangler created products available online at SteveSpanglerScience.com and distributed to toy stores and mass-market retailers worldwide.

Spangler joined NBC affiliate 9News in 2001 as the science education specialist. His weekly experiments and science segments are designed to teach viewers creative ways to make learning fun. His now famous Mentos Geyser experiment, turning 2-liter bottles of soda into erupting fountains, became an Internet sensation in September 2005 when thousands of people started posting their own Mentos explosions on YouTube.com.

As founder of SteveSpanglerScience.com, Spangler and his design team have developed more than 140 educational toys and science-related products featured by mass-market retailers like Target, Wal-Mart, Toys R' Us, Discovery Channel Stores and over 1,400 independent specialty toy stores. His educational science catalog and on-line business offers more than a thousand science toys and unique learning resources. Recently, Spangler has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Inc. Magazine, WIRED, the History Channel, Food Network and TIME Magazine where on-line readers voted Steve Spangler #18 in the Top 100 Most Influential People of the Year for 2006.

His recent appearances on the Ellen DeGeneres Show have taught viewers how to blow up their food, shock their friends, create mountains of foam, play on a bed of nails, vanish in a cloud of smoke and how to turn 2,500 boxes of cornstarch and a garden hose into a swimming pool of fun. About Steve Spangler Science...

Steve Spangler is a celebrity teacher, science toy designer, speaker, author and an Emmy award-winning television personality. Spangler is probably best known for his Mentos and Diet Coke geyser experiment that went viral in. Spangler is the founder of www.SteveSpanglerScience.com, a Denver-based company specializing in the creation of science toys, classroom science demonstrations, teacher resources and home for Spangler's popular science experiment archive and video collection. Spangler is a frequent guest on the Ellen DeGeneres Show and Denver 9 News where he takes classroom science experiments to the extreme. For teachers, parents or DIY Science ideas – check out other sources of learning:

Join the Science Club and check out other cool science experiments at - www.SteveSpanglerScience.com/

Sign up to receive a FREE Experiment of the Week- www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment-of-the-wee…

Attend a Spangler Hands-on Science Workshop for Teachers - www.stevespanglerscience.com/training

Watch Steve on Local and National Media Appearances on YouTube at: youtube.com/user/SpanglerScienceTV

@Dclockvideos 10 years ago

Did anybody else realize she was extremely scared of it. Maybe it was because he said it was over 10000 Volts.

@hackbodies 11 years ago

I guess you could say she *sunglasses* felt a little spark between them YYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH

@amrita81696 12 years ago

My 6th grade science teacher had one, I think it was a little different cause it had like a plastic or glass casing around the metal ball, and the purple line things appeared constantly in the casing, so what we did was we each got to so up and put both hands on it so that our hair stood up.. It was SO much fun! :D

@bead66 9 years ago

I made a capacitor out of aluminum foil and a 5 gallon bucket and lid.It blew a hole in the bucket, pencil eraser sized, and loud too. I have no idea of how much power that is but I would be surprised if a jolt like that wouldn't kill a person outright. I got shocked by a piece of plastic no larger than 12" x 18" 1/8" thick that was not even close to being fully charged and it took me maybe 20 -30 seconds to even remember my name and what I was doing. High voltage when used to charge things up like leyden jars and homemade capacitors is no joke and takes only one mistake to flat out kill you or your friends or family member. And time does not always dissipate the charge either, I have discharged a sheet of plastic over a month after I had charged it and it still had a scarey amount of juice in it. If you insist on playing like that do yourself a favor and always keep one of your hands in your pocket so if something does happen you are far less likely to have your heart in the path the electricity is likely to follow.In one arm and out the other puts your heart in the path. That is no guarantee you will survive, I wish I had read that somewhere early on, Not everyone will be as careful or lucky as I was early on. Best not to even go there on a whim.