High Point University students learned how to engage interest and experience science through hands-on lessons from Steve Spangler, a bestselling author, TV personality and business leader who is HPU’s STEM Educator in Residence.
HIGH POINT, N.C., April 6, 2023 – High Point University students learned ways to engage interest and experience science through hands-on lessons from Steve Spangler, a bestselling author, TV personality and business leader who is HPU’s STEM Educator in Residence. Spangler is among the growing number of global leaders in HPU’s Access to Innovators Program.
To start his Life Skills Seminar on the science of engagement, Spangler captured attention immediately by opening a book that sent flames upward. He followed that trick by pulling out a wallet that also sent flames into the Leadership and Life Skills Theater at Earl N. Phillips Hall. The nationally known STEM educator prompted laughs when he advised students not to try those tricks at home. Spangler said his goal is to make learning about science “play with a purpose.”
“Experiences are transformational,” said Spangler. “In the hands of a gifted teacher, an experience can change the way you see, feel, think and act. There is not a greater superpower that a teacher has than an experience. When strong connections are formed through meaningful experiences, you get purpose-driven engagement.”
During his visit, Spangler brainstormed with faculty about a multitude of hands-on science workshops for 2024. He shared lunch with Natural Science and Education Fellows, and he led a science communication and outreach session with STEM educators and natural science majors. He also recorded a podcast with HPU junior Michael Lee, installed a new exhibit at the Nido and Mariana Qubein Children’s Museum and led a session of fun demonstrations there with HPU education students and 20 teachers from Guilford County Schools.
The experience of introducing Spangler at the Life Skills Seminar was a new one for Ashley Rodriguez, a freshman neurobiology major from Rockwall, Texas, with minors in psychology and philosophy.
“The whole principle of being engaged is a big thing that’s a new concept for me because I’m one of those people who can sometimes get shy and tucked in,” said Rodriguez. “The principle to get engaged, be engaged and go get engaged with people is something I can definitely see myself using in my life further to go out and create new experiences, make life more exciting and have some fun.”
Recording the Access to Innovators podcast with Spangler was an impactful experience for Lee, a biology major with a healthcare management minor from Toms River, New Jersey. Lee witnessed Spangler demonstrating he can go from speaking to a worldwide audience to connecting individually with a student to achieve aspirational goals.
“Steve and I talked not only about science but about what it means to be a professional speaker, because I hope to be a professional speaker one day,” Lee said. “We talked about what it means to bring that intimate classroom setting out into the world. Bringing that intimacy out to 10,000 individuals in a speech is showing them what it means to connect on a deep level. It’s showing your vulnerability, not only in your education but showing who you are as an individual. It meant the world to me to see it’s really what we do as human beings. He explained the importance of having humility, and that’s what stuck with me more than anything else.”
About Steve Spangler:
Spangler started his career as a science teacher, who pushed an audio-video cart between classrooms at an elementary school in Colorado. Students could hear the cart coming toward their classroom and anticipated Spangler’s energetic experiments, where he did unexpected things like exploding pumpkins at Halloween.
Since the early ’90s, Spangler has been on a mission to get kids and adults excited about science. In 2005, he became a household name with his viral Mentos Diet Coke experiment on YouTube. Since then, he has made countless viral science videos, appeared on daytime television shows like “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and has a television career that spans more than 30 years with over 1,600 appearances to his credit. He is known as the modern-day Mr. Wizard, inspiring other science communicators and online scientists with his experiments.
Spangler is also a bestselling author with his books “10-Minute Science Experiments,” “Naked Eggs and Flying Potatoes” and “Fire Bubbles and Exploding Toothpaste.” He’s not only a science educator, but also the founder of Be Amazing Toys, a global manufacturer of science-based toys and kits sold all over the globe.
Spangler is part of the HPU’s Access to Innovators program, which connects students with industry leaders for networking and mentorship opportunities. Spangler joins Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak, HPU’s Innovator in Residence; Netflix Co-Founder Marc Randolph, HPU’s Entrepreneur in Residence; Dallas Mavericks’ CEO Cynt Marshall, HPU’s Sports Executive in Residence; Domino’s CEO Russell Weiner, HPU’s Corporate Executive in Residence; Former U.S. Ambassador and FCC Chairman William “Bill” Kennard, HPU’s Global Leader in Residence; ABC News’ “Nightline” Anchor Byron Pitts, HPU’s Journalist in Residence; American Actor, Producer and Television Presenter Dean Cain, HPU’s Actor in Residence, and many others.