1. The Wonders of Physics Prof. Clint Sprott Department of Physics University of Wisconsin - Madison Presented to the Physics Board of Visitors in Madison, WI on May 3, 2013

2. Genesis of WoP  Inspired by “Chemistry Can be Fun” (Bassam Shakhashiri)  First presentation – Feb 1984  Overflow crowd ~500 people  Press and TV coverage  Second year ~800 people  In 2013 ~3000 people (10 shows over two weekends)  Traveling show began in 1988

3. History of WoP  Began in 1984, 257 public presentations, ~80,000 people  Began in 1988, >1000 traveling shows, ~200,000 people mostly in Wisconsin but throughout the USA & Canada  Foreign trips to Portugal, South Africa, Egypt, Japan  30 hours of videotapes ~1000 distributed ($25 ea), free streaming on the Web  Teacher workshops  Web site (2) - http://wonders.physics.wisc.edu (>560,000 accesses)http://wonders.physics.wisc.edu  Lecture Kit (NSF funded) ~ 500 distributed ($90 ea)  Physics Demonstrations Book (UW Press)

4. Philosophy of WoP Make entertaining presentations to audiences that would not normally be motivated to attend a lecture on physics.

5. The Approach of WoP  Dramatic demonstrations, fast-paced, minimal explanations  Entertain first, education second  Encourage interaction and curiosity  Emphasize phenomena, not facts  Appeal to a cross-section of ages, education, and interests

6. The Presentation  Scheduling and publicity  Tickets / ushers / handouts  Costumes  Dramatic entrance  Audience participation  Special guests  Live or recorded music  Videotaping  Dramatic ending  Laboratory tours

7. Topics  Motion  Heat  Sound  Electricity  Magnetism  Light  Modern Physics

8. Sample Themes  Chaos and Randomness  Physics of the Weather  Physics of the Body  Physics of Energy  Physics of Flying  Physics of Transportation  States of Matter  Physics of Water  Physics of the Cosmos  Physics of Sports  Physics of the Arts

23. Spinoffs  Traveling shows (>1000)  Videos (30 hours)  Computer software  Demonstration book  Written handouts  Lecture Kit  Annual Integration Bee  Teacher’s workshops  Radio and TV interviews  Web sites

24. Traveling Show  Over 1000 shows in 25 yrs  Mostly precollege schools  Full-time person – Mike Randall (supported by US National Science Foundation & Department of Energy)  Donations ($100-400) requested per show  Some corporate donors

25. Physics Demonstrations Book  300-page full color book containing 85 demonstrations used in The Wonders of Physics published by UW Press in 2006  Book contains 2 DVDs with 3 hours of demonstrations before a live audience.  Favorably reviewed in Physics Today  >5000 copies sold

27. Integration Bee Madison--February 8: Aarti Singh defeated 13 competitors in the final round of the 2nd annual UW Integration Bee, a live-action calculus competition that took place tonight in the Physics Department in Sterling Hall. Singh, a student in the College of Engineering, suffered an early defeat in the double-elimination competition, but held on to win by defeating Mathematics student Steve Griffeth in back-to-back integrals in the championship match. The Integration Bee was sponsored by the Wonders of Physics outreach program. Grand Integrator of Madison 2005

28. Videos  30 hours of video from past years now on DVD and streamed on the Web (http://sprott.info/wop.htm#videos)  Very detailed statistics on usage (http://mediastreamer.doit.wisc.edu/stats/physics 103/windowsmedia/all_dates/):

29. Web Survey Results Number of responses: 342 (229 parents, 51 teachers, 62 others) What seen: 238 public show, 51 traveling show, 27 both, 21 videos only On average the first show was seen 3 years ago. On average the respondents have seen 3 shows. 97% of the respondents found the presentation clearly audible. 94% of the respondents found the presentation clearly visible. 4% thought it was too short, and 4% thought it was too long. 7% thought it was too simple, and 4% thought it was too difficult. 97% learned something about physics from the presentation. 68% learned something about plasmas from the presentation. 91% were encouraged to study more physics by the presentation. Awareness: Annual show: 60% Traveling show: 26% Website: 34% Videos: 19% Lecture Kit: 7% Demo Book: 11% Software: 4% The surveyed audience was 54% male and 46% female. The surveyed audience was 78% Caucasian and 22% minority. 242 comments were left.

30. Recent Activities  13 monthly WMTV (NBC) Sunday morning live science demonstrations  WID Super Science Saturdays  6 th annual Department Physics Fair  Expanded Web presence (including an automatic booking system)  Satellite programs in Appleton, De Pere, Milwaukee, River Falls, and Superior, WI  Creation of a Physics Volunteer Corps  Physics of Plasma show development  Assessment of results

31. Needs and Concerns  Stable source of funding  More faculty involvement

32. References  http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/ lectures/wop-bov.htm http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/ lectures/wop-bov.htm  http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/ wop.htm http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/ wop.htm  sprott@physics.wisc.edu sprott@physics.wisc.edu