Steve Spangler
Encyclopedia
Steve Spangler is an author, professional speaker, Emmy Award
winner, listed in the public Time 100
poll, science teacher, founder of two companies, toy maker and a trained magician. He is most famous for the hugely popular experiment of dropping a Mentos
into a bottle of Diet Coke
, with the end result being a huge geyser
of Diet Coke.
(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.
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, edging out over Brad Pitt
and Barack Obama
(19th and 20th respectively), but losing to Howard Stern at 17th. 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.
Steve Spangler is also a regular recurring guest on Ellen Degeneres' talkshow, where he demonstrates experiments, often with audience participation.
. 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."
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 Ellen Degeneres show and was the science guy with air blowershttp://www.stevespanglerscience.com/save-5percent.html
In 2009, Spangler's conducted the "World's Largest Physics Lesson" at Coor's Field.http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Largest-physics-lesson/BLOG/283367/7691.html?widgetId=195583
, Toys "R" Us, Target
, etc. 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."
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.
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 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. 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.
Along with his Be Amazing Toys! company, Spangler a device allowing kids to reproduce the experiment.
Spangler says that the Mentos eruption is not his best trick he but "It's the trick that got the most notoriety."
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
winner, listed in the public Time 100
Time 100
Time 100 is an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world, as assembled by Time. First published in 1999 as a result of a debate among several academics, the list has become an annual event.-History and format:...
poll, science teacher, founder of two companies, toy maker and a trained magician. He is most famous for the hugely popular experiment of dropping a Mentos
Mentos
Mentos is a brand of mints, of the "scotch mint" type, sold in many markets across the world by the Perfetti Van Melle corporation. Mentos was first produced in the Netherlands during the 1950s. The mints are small oblate spheroids, with a slightly hard exterior and a soft, chewy interior...
into a bottle of Diet Coke
Diet Coke
Diet Coke is a sugar-free soft drink produced and distributed by The Coca-Cola Company. It was first introduced in the United States on August 9, 1982, as the first new brand since 1886 to use the Coca-Cola trademark...
, with the end result being a huge geyser
Geyser
A geyser is a spring characterized by intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by a vapour phase . The word geyser comes from Geysir, the name of an erupting spring at Haukadalur, Iceland; that name, in turn, comes from the Icelandic verb geysa, "to gush", the verb...
of Diet Coke.
Television and media
Since starting his television career, Steve Spangler has appeared in over 240 television shows, featuring as an "authority on inquiry-based learning". Every week he is watched by over a million viewers on KUSA-TVKUSA-TV
KUSA, channel 9, is an NBC-affiliated television station in Denver, Colorado. KUSA is owned by the Gannett Company, and is a sister station to MyNetworkTV affiliate KTVD...
(9News) as their "science guy". He also appeared frequently on Weather + Plus University NBC Weather Plus
NBC Weather Plus
NBC Weather Plus was a 24-hour, commercially sponsored, weather-oriented broadcast/cable television network jointly owned by NBC Universal and the local affiliates of the NBC network. It debuted on November 15, 2004 and shut down on December 31, 2008...
. 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.
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, edging out over Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
and Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
(19th and 20th respectively), but losing to Howard Stern at 17th. The main reason for him being nominated was for popularizing the Mentos eruption (see below). Spangler has never been on the cover of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine, nor in a Time 100 list.
Steve Spangler is also a regular recurring guest on Ellen Degeneres' talkshow, where he demonstrates experiments, often with audience participation.
Education work
Spangler is the director of the National Hands-on Science Institute, based in Denver, ColoradoDenver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
. 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."
Spangler acts as a consultant for Littleton Public Schools, Colorado
Littleton Public Schools
Littleton Public Schools is a school district in Littleton, Colorado which serves several communities south of central Denver in the Denver metropolitan area.Scott Murphy is the superintendent...
. 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 Ellen Degeneres show and was the science guy with air blowershttp://www.stevespanglerscience.com/save-5percent.html
In 2009, Spangler's conducted the "World's Largest Physics Lesson" at Coor's Field.http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Largest-physics-lesson/BLOG/283367/7691.html?widgetId=195583
Commercial work
Spangler is the founder of Englewood-based Steve Spangler Science and Be Amazing! Toys http://www.beamazingtoys.com, 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 ChannelDiscovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
, Toys "R" Us, Target
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
, etc. 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."
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.
Mentos eruption
Life Savers
Life Savers is an American brand of ring-shaped mints and artificially fruit-flavored hard candy. The candy is known for its distinctive packaging, coming in aluminum foil rolls....
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 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. 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.
Along with his Be Amazing Toys! company, Spangler a device allowing kids to reproduce the experiment.
Spangler says that the Mentos eruption is not his best trick he but "It's the trick that got the most notoriety."