I don’t know about the rest of the country, but here in the Midwest schools traditionally host science fairs in the winter months. I expect it is the same across the country.

Getting kids excited about science can be a tough job, but it doesn’t have to be. Science assemblies and science assembly programs make great school shows that can excite and motivate kids to want to learn about science and involve themselves in scientific activities. In other words, science assemblies are a great way to motivate students prior to a science fair! 

Take a science assembly program like our Thomas Edison ...  wait! ... did I say Thomas Edison? Isn’t that a history or social studies assembly program? Well, yes, it is, dealing with the life and times of a great American entrepreneur and inventor. But it is also a great science assembly! In the 45 minute program while taking kids through his life story, Mr. Edison is also doing two other things.
He is showing them how and why he was motivated to seek out new inventions and solutions to scientific problems, while simultaneously introducing them to many of the cool inventions for which he was responsible. Ohio schools in particular love this school assembly program as their state standards require them to look at the lives of both famous inventors, and famous people from Ohio. But this great school assembly works just as well in all other states where they want to focus on science before a science fair. Whether it be Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Texas, California or the East Coast, this is a great way to kick off the approach to a science fair.

Similarly, Ben Franklin, thought by many to be a social studies or history assembly program, also suits the theme of science assembly beautifully since this great American was, among all his other accomplishments, also a great inventor! Student audiences for this cool science assembly are witness to the marvels of electricity through introduction to a Van de Graaf generator, a truly “hair raising” experience! The same experience is shared by audiences of Physics is Fun another great science assembly also featuring a Tesla Coil, sure to be an “electrifying” moment! But there is much more to this remarkable science assembly, including  and actual Ram jet engine. Cover your ears, as it is really loud! Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

But in the field of science assemblies for schools, Mobile Ed has always been a leader and an innovator. The Amazing World of Light and Chemistry! It Really Matters! are among several science assembly programs with which Mobile Ed has dazzled audiences for years and both work equally well today, not only to excite students about the potential of science, but also as a kick of for science fair projects.

But science assemblies are,of course, not only great for approaching a science fair. They can also be a wonderful culminating event, celebrating the accomplishments of all the young student scientists. I know of several instances where Midwest school assemblies were used in just this fashion. In some cases we have even had one science assembly, say Thomas Edison, used as a kick of, and then another science assembly like, say Chemistry! It Really Matters! (with its great fireballs, liquid nitrogen and controlled explosions) used to highlight the final moments of the science fair.

And don’t forget this one last point. Following hard on the heels of winter and all the activity around science fairs, we begin the approach to April with it’s emphasis on Mother Earth and environmental science. In this department you cannot top The Earth Dome (AKA The Earth Balloon) or Our Changing Climate, both extremely exciting environmental science assemblies, perfect for any time of year but especially relevant before and during Earth Month!

However you you look at your year, educational science assemblies are a great way to excite students about science!

Geoff Beauchamp is the Regional Manager of Mobile Ed Productions where "Education Through Entertainment" has been the guiding principal since 1979. Mobile Ed Productions produces and markets quality educational school assembly programs in the fields of science, history, writing, astronomy, natural science, mathematics, character issues and a variety of other curriculum based areas. In addition, Mr. Beauchamp is a professional actor with 30 years of experience in film, television and on stage. He created and still performs occasionally in Mobile Ed's THE LIVING LINCOLN