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WATCH: Red Deer teacher engages students with “cool” science experiments

On Thursday, he made fire dance to the beat of the music

Science teacher Jason Zackowski is known for making fire dance to the beat of music.

But he is also making a name for himself on social media.

Most recently, his freezing bubble photo was picked up by National Geographic and Cosmopolitan after he posted it on social media.

“It was like -46 C with the windchill that day, and I was sure I could freeze some bubbles outside,” he said.

As the sun was setting and the bubbles were freezing, he got some pictures and posted them on his social media accounts.

“I thought nothing of it at the time.”

At Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School Thursday, Zackowski conducted two science experiments including a fiery acoustical tube experiment to the delight of students.

The natural gas experiment featured a tube with holes, which allowed candle-light-like flames appear and dance to the teacher’s playlist.

“A speaker is attached to the tube, which vibrates the (attached) balloon, which sends sound waves through the tube. It changes the pressure of the gas inside, and you get those nice waves (of fire),” said Zackowski.

The teacher often conducts unique experiments for his students. Partly because they pester him to do so, but mainly because he enjoys engaging with the youths.

All the experiments for students are related to the curriculum, and help them understand what they learn in theory.

In the second experiment, he warned students to cover their ears because he was going to make an explosion. Soon enough, a loud bang took over the school’s science lab followed by purple smoke. The explosion of nitrogen triiodide is one requiring no energy, he explained.

“It’s a chemical that, as it dries, becomes so unstable that very little energy is required to blow up,” he said.

Zackowski has been teaching at the school for about nine years, and he is often referred to as “a favourite” teacher by students.

For those looking to follow the teacher and Lindsay Thurber student’s everyday science experiments, they can follow Zedscience on Facebook and Instagram.



mamta.lulla@reddeeradvocate.com

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Jason Zackowski, a science teacher at Lindsay Thurber, engages his students by conducting “cool” experiments. Photo by Mamta Lulla/Advocate staff