Science as entertainment

Well, we always knew Teddy was destined to be a comedian. His laughter has been filling hearts with joy ever since he was a baby. Honestly, and I am not just saying this because I'm his mother (well, maybe a little bit), but he had the most infectious laugh as a baby. And he had a very well developed sense of humor. He found the oddest things hysterically funny, and also loved to get the attention of anyone and everyone.

Trying to feed him in a busy restaurant was impossible, as he would crane his head and actively try to get the attention of any adult walking by. This was tough enough when we spoon-fed him in his high chair, as he got whiplash from trying to catch the eye of people walking behind him. Never mind when he was still nursing.

Anyway, he has been sharpening his comedic skills all year. His teacher seems pretty tolerant, and DH's classroom observation ranks Teddy behind 5 other boys who are way more disruptive. Somewhat reassuring when we learn that Teddy is actually campaigning to be voted "Class Clown". He loves to write and tell funny stories, and this need for attention has already gotten him in trouble with our humorless new Principal.

He turned in his science fair project today. A lightweight piece on spinning a hardboiled vs. raw egg. He hypothesized the difference in behavior between them in initial spinning speed (the hardboiled egg is faster), and what happens after they are stopped (the raw one keeps spinning when you let go). Here is a great link to a video showing these differences. Actually, that's a great physics for kids site overall. I also just found this link about the eggs rising if spun hard enough. We will have to test that ourselves to validate.

Each student did a practice oral presentation in class before 3 student judges. They were to be rated on speaking, posture, length of time (5 minutes) and entertainment value (how interesting was it). Hoo boy. That last measure was just asking for it, really.

Teddy spoke for 3 minutes, and was out of things to say to fill the 5 minute target. At the encouragement of friends shouting, "Juggle!", he decided this would be a good idea. He had a hardboiled egg, and a raw egg that we had carefully packed for his demonstration. And yes, readers, he juggled 2 eggs in class, for 2 minutes, meeting the 5 minute required time. Of course, he dropped one. Of course, he dropped the raw one. Yes it broke. Luckily, he had put his plate down on the floor, "just in case".

Well, I suppose every comedian has to start somewhere. Raw egg at the 4th grade science fair seems as good a spot as any. And while I am not sure how he was rated on the other scales, he proudly reported he got a 5 out of 5 for "entertainment value". That's my boy!