The Martlet

Watching stuff blow up on stage can be the highlight of an Iron Maiden concert or an evening of lowbrow entertainment on the Discovery Channel. But it can also be a good way to contribute to a worthwhile cause and learn about interesting scientific concepts. In any case, explosion fans of all ages would be satisfied after seeing That Chemistry Show, a fundraising event for the United Way of Greater Victoria.

That Chemistry Show is the legacy of a long-running UVic tradition of shows originally hosted by UVic Chemistry professor Reginald Mitchell in his “Dr. Zonk” persona. A few years ago, the torch was passed to Dr. Alexandre Brolo, who had hosted a regular show at a science museum while he was a student in Brazil.

That Chemistry Show features the same kind of visual spectacles found in a regular magic show. But beyond the showmanship are solid scientific concepts, says Brolo.

“The objective of the show is to show the general public that science can be interesting and fun,” explains Brolo. “So what they are going to see are explosions, colour changes, smoke coming out of things, floating objects in the air, that kind of stuff. We show the visual things that give an impact, so the kids and the audience get the ‘wow’ effect. We don’t try to explain in detail, of course, because that’s beyond the idea [of the show].”

Brolo makes sure the show is effective at teaching science.

“We try to transmit a broad concept,” explains Brolo. “For example, we can say ‘all right, we saw a change of colour, and when you see a change of colour, that might be evidence that a chemical reaction is happening’. Something becomes something else, and that’s why the colour changed.”

Part of That Chemistry Show is demonstrations involving balloons, which are used to explain the behaviour of gases exposed to changing temperatures. The climax of the balloon experiments involves exploding hydrogen.

“It can be very loud, “ says Brolo.

Another spellbinding trick audiences get to witness is a magnet floating in midair, via a superconducting ceramic material.

“For the ceramic to become superconducting, you have to cool it down, so we put in liquid nitrogen to make it very, very cold,” explains Brolo. “You have this effect called the Meissner Effect where the magnetic field cannot penetrate that material, so when you put the magnet on top of it, the magnet’s going to float. That’s a concept they use for ultra-fast trains.”

As Brolo explains, witnessing That Chemistry Show would have a similar impression as a magician’s stage act.

“I think it’s a little different than a magic show, but a lot of these things look like magic,” says Brolo. “A lot of people that go and watch it, they get that feeling of being at a magic show just because things are happening that you can’t understand right away.”

Brolo thinks That Chemistry Show is important because, unlike a classroom lecture, the stage show relies upon a visual context to the scientific concepts being taught.

“The idea is, for the kids, to try to get them curious about science, to get them excited about science,” says Brolo. “Because I think that’s important when they are that age — for them to learn science, they need to get excited about it. But what happens a lot in schools is we try to teach science without doing experiments, without seeing what’s going on.”

Brolo says while some professors involved in the show may have more of an affinity for onstage performance than others, they are all united by their passion for science.

“Everybody here loves science, they like what they do,” says Brolo. “They know how to do demonstrations, and they know reactions that are exciting and so on. In the end, it’s like teaching a class, or like giving a lecture. The only difference is that you are giving this lecture to an audience that is the general public, or kids.”

According to Brolo, the success of the show is measured by the impact it has on kids’ lives.

“A year after the show, [the kids’ parents] come to you and say, ‘he’s much more interested in science, he wants to be just like you, he wants to be a chemist,’ things like that,” says Brolo. “Just the fact that you get someone interested in learning about science in general, I think that’s worthwhile.”