That was a great conference. We always have a big physics demonstrations show and this year was no different. Although much of it was planned ahead, much was not. There was no time to practice. We only got to move stuff to the stage the afternoon of the show and then had to leave because a talk was scheduled there. Talk about winging it. But to be honest, this is how it is done almost every year. If you combine this situation with about 20 physics demonstrations people from around the globe, you get very interesting and fun results.

This years show had a bit of a twist. We did much of it to music. Normally, we are just showing old experiments in new ways and adding a little humor here and there (yes, physicists can be funny). But this year it was more of a theatrical show. Too much fun. The final act was all pressure demos and was played to David Bowie’s song in the background. I put these photos and a few others to music if you prefer a short slide show to David Bowie.

So I am in Edmonton at a physics teacher’s conference this week. I do love what I do. I also love these people. I talk with them all the time, but once or twice a year, I get to see them at conferences. We are all great friends and it is like we never missed a day. The jokes start immediately, then the talking work then the going out after all the talks. We really do have a great time.

Each year there is a two day workshop before the conference dealing with physics lecture demonstrations. A group of physics demo types selected the top 200 demonstrations that are commonly used several years ago. They are presented each year at this conference. It is a great time for us all to get together, have fun and teach others how they work. After the workshops, there are bunches of talks and then a large physics demonstrations show. That is coming up fast and I am helping with that so I am not sure how many pictures I will get. I promise I will get a few though.

So here are some pics of my friends and partners in crime from Minnesota, Iowa, Brown, Syracuse. There were also friends from many other places (Utah, Rutgers, Michigan) and several other places there.

What a relaxing vacation! We have nothing on the schedule other than what we want to do at the moment. If nothing else is there, we hit the beach. This afternoon we hit the aquarium. Turtles, sharks, dolphins and manatees. BTW, my daughter had a manatee swim by her at the beach today. Lucky Duck! Oh and we also saw Jellyfish at the aquarium. Yikes. I was stung by one as a kid growing up at the beach and still fear those things!