Child campers will see some mad science today coming from UF.
UF’s Mad Scientists Club will perform at Camp Kesem UF, an Ocala summer camp for children whose parents have or have had cancer, as part of its community outreach program, said club president Genevieve Comeau. A program director asked the students to put on its Mad Science 101 show, which illustrates scientific principles in an exciting way, at a Camp Kesem carnival.
The club’s requisition officer, Drake Polino, said the show will include sections on chemistry, biology and physics. Students will demonstrate an explosive experiment called “Elephant’s Toothpaste,” explain how plants grow from seeds and show electricity traveling up a Jacob’s Ladder.
Comeau said the club has previously performed a similar science show at Fort Clarke Middle School. She said the club does shows like these to “show the newest generation of scientists that it’s OK to push the limits and break rules — as long as you have the proper safety equipment on standby.”
The club is relatively new. It was formed last Fall by Comeau, who got the idea while in class.
“I was doodling in a history of science class, listening to my professor raving about Tycho [Brahe], Kepler and Newton and thinking that most of the breakthroughs these guys made were tinkering around on their own, doing projects that interested them,” Comeau said. “I was sure there were others who felt the same.”
There were. Eager members formed the club.
“Sure enough, they showed up with lots of ideas for projects,” Comeau said.
Polino said the club is student-run, with each of the members chipping in with money and ideas for each project and performance.
“Seeing the looks of wonder, amazement and the promise of more young scientists are all the compensation we need,” Polino said.
Joey Siracusa, service chair of the club, said he’s excited for the Camp Kesem performance.
“It gives us the opportunity to show kids how exciting science can be,” he said. “It’s wonderful seeing the kids’ faces light up after I plug in our high-voltage Jacob’s Ladder.”
Ed. note: This story has been changed from its print version to correct errors in describing the experiments.
