Science Demonstrations

We have been building a wide variety of science demonstrations since about 2000, originally for CHaOS (Cambridge Hands On Science), and our own shows but more recently for Lab in a Lorry, The Naked Scientists shows, the Cambridge Science Centre, the RI christmas lectures and others.
Having done a huge amount of loading experiments in and out of vans we have now become obsessed with making experiments pack as efficiently as possible, preferably into a standard box or if that is not possible, then as a clean flat object which will pack nicely.

Have you ever wondered how astronomers know so much about distant galaxies when we have never even sent a probe to the sun. The answer is spectroscopy, and this allows you to explore different lights and what colours make them up.
Use a laser to send a message through the air. Use a fibre optic to send the signal around corners
This demo shows how how you can produce light by heating something up electrically in a reliable and impressive way.
A monitor which appears to be broken, it just shows a white screen whatever is plugged into it. However it you put a piece of polariser up to it and a picture suddenly appears.
Sodium lights are fascinating because they are pretty much monochromatic: colour disappears when you look at an object under them, because if you illuminate an object with just one colour it can only reflect back that one colour. You can also use it to produce a spooky dark flame effect.
One favorite experiment is the Gherkinator, essentially electrocuting a gherkin to produce sparks which glow due to the salt they are soaked in.