If you’ve never had a cool science teacher who wasn’t afraid to make a big mess, toss things around, break things, or bring toys to class, then Dr. Carlson is waiting for you.
Dr. Carlson’s Science Theater is a series of video podcasts full of hard science covering basic Newtonian physics and chemistry. You may not have the facilities to conduct chemical reactions for elephant toothpaste but Dr. Carlson has plenty of video science for vicarious Geekdad living.
If only all middle- and high-school science classrooms were filled with teachers like this. He’s not as glitzy as Bill Nye or Dr. Bunhead, but what he lacks in production value he makes up for in actual content. He may not be "hollywood" but boy is he geeky!
Armed with all the right equipment, his demonstrations make for a good alternative to the idiot box for the geeklings. Each video is short and action-packed, but it is geared toward the older kid. (My 4-year-old, although seemingly interested in what Dr. Carlson had to say, did surmise that "this stinks" until he dunked himself into water, and made a big mess.) The kid(s) could still spend quite a bit of quality time with these vids. Watch them together, and they are just fodder for all Geekdads to concoct their own experiments.
I like this one on free fall and gravity incorporating action figures, nerf balls, and a nerf air cannon.
