the magic of ecology - steve trash of ecology.pdf · ecology and the environment. ... here's a...
TRANSCRIPT
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The Magic of Ecology
Published by Steve Trash Enterprises,975 Old Dirt Road, Spruce Pine, AL 35585.
Steve TRASH® is a Registered TrademarkYoung Eco-Hero® is a Registered Trademark
Cover Design and Illustration: Dianne Richerson, Steve Trash
Technical Illustration & Layout: Dianne Richerson
Editing: Steve Trash and his "Mom" Betty Richerson
Cover Photography: Patrick Hood
ISBN 0-9652542-2-4ISBN 978-0-9652542-2-9
Second EditionCOPYRIGHT ©2005 by Steve Trash®
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced- mechanically, electronically, or by any othermeans, including photocopying, transcription by Tibetan monks, or by smoke signals from extremely clever
fish - without written permission of the publisher. Steve Trash Enterprises • First Printing 1996
Written by Steve Trash®
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Steve Trash “Hello” letter ..................................................................... 3Some Things You Need To Know About Magic ..................................... 4Food Chain of Rubber Bands................................................................. 6Respect the Environment ...................................................................... 9CO2 to O2 Transformation ................................................................... 12Anti-Gravity Water .............................................................................. 15Garbage to Pennies ............................................................................. 17Respect for People ............................................................................... 19Web of Life .......................................................................................... 22Respect Yourself .................................................................................. 25The Forest Trick.................................................................................. 27Disappearing Bug ............................................................................... 30Earth is a Wild Place! .......................................................................... 32Some of Mother Nature’s Eco-Principles ............................................ 34The Web Spin ...................................................................................... 35Vanishing Garbage .............................................................................. 37Recycled Pencil Transformation ......................................................... 40Vanishing Silver Pebble....................................................................... 42Linking Paper Clips ............................................................................ 46Water in the Boot ................................................................................ 49Magic Wand From Coin Purse............................................................. 51Greenhouse Penetration ...................................................................... 53Green Milk .......................................................................................... 56Sun Fun ............................................................................................... 60Water Planet Cards ............................................................................. 62Carbon Creatures ................................................................................ 65Renewable Resources .......................................................................... 68Dinosaur Water ................................................................................... 70Oil in Water ......................................................................................... 73Glossary of Words ............................................................................... 75Good Bye ............................................................................................. 79
The Table of Contents
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Hi! I’m Steve Trash. I’ve traveled all over theplanet (Japan, Australia, England, Canada, and evenabove the arctic circle) performing magic tricks andmaking people laugh. I’ve noticed something in mytravels. People around the world are working to makethe world a better place to live. They’re recycling.They’re planting and taking care of trees. They’re con-serving resources. They’re really getting smart aboutecology and the environment.
All this stuff is really cool, but it’s not EVERYTHINGthat we need to do to make the world a better place to live.
You see, to respect the environment means that you respect everything inthe environment. That means you respect people, too. To respect people meansthat you must respect yourself as well!
Throughout The Magic Of Ecology you'll find tips for respecting yourself,others and the environment. Enjoy!
This book is filled with magic tricks that illustrate science ideas orprinciples. Do not get them confused. Science is about revealing truthfullyhow the physical world works. Magic is about artfully creating the illusionthat you can defy physical laws of nature. You can't, but magic makes it looklike you can.
I like to call kids who are working to make the world better Young Eco-Heroes.
I, ________________________________________, being a really cool person,promise to respect; myself, others and the environment.
The great thing about taking the Steve Trash® pledge is that you don’t haveto pay any money to get started. You just have to start making the world abetter place to live. Remember that doing good feels good and can be a lot offun. So, go for it. The world needs your help!
You + Other Young Eco-Heroes = Better World!Your friend,
Steve Trash®
Illusionist � Eco-Entertainer � Kid Comedian � Rockin' Eco-Hero
The Steve Trash® Pledge
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� TIP #1 - The tricks in this book are not that hard to do,
but you will need to practice them. Remember, anything
worth doing is worth doing well. Each trick has a rating.
(one magic hat) means that the trick is easy to perform.
(two magic hats) is a little harder.
(three magic hats) is the hardest.
No trick in this book is really hard to do. Have fun!
� TIP #2 - Nobody is ever greatthe first time they try some-thing. So stay at it. Keep try-ing. You will get better.
� TIP #3 - Practice in front ofa mirror. It gives you a goodidea of how the trick looks toyour audience. Remember-we’re creating illusions. It’swhat the audience thinks you’redoing that’s important. So prac-tice your tricks in front of a mir-ror, and then perform them forreal people.
� TIP #4 - Don’t just learn the trick and run out and show it tosomeone. Give it 5 or 6 rehearsals before you try it in front ofan audience. It will be better, I promise. You'll thank me for thisadvice!
Some things you need to know about before you get started...magic
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� TIP #5 - Don't tell people how these tricks are done. Wait just aminute, Steve TRASH. Isn’t this a magic book? Aren’t you go-ing to tell us HOW the tricks are done? Actually, no, I’m not.I’m going to teach you how to DO magic tricks. There’s a bigdifference. Telling the secrets only destroys the mystery thatmakes magic fun. Teaching magic,however, gives a person the abil-ity to perform it for them-selves. See the difference?
� TIP # 6 - When performingdon't be nervous. Relax andhave some fun
� TIP #7 - A good magic perfor-mance is very similar to goodstory telling. You must try to tellan interesting story with yourmagic tricks. Most of these tricks have good ecological storiesalready. Congratulations you're half way there!
� TIP #8 - Borrow the things you’ll need for your tricks, but besure to ask permission first! Treat other people's things theway you’d like yours to be treated.
� TIP #9 - Sometimes magicians have to make secret thingsthat the audience never even sees. These secret things arecalled GIMMICKS. Watch for this word sprinkled throughoutthis book. Other times magicians have to make ordinary thingsdo special jobs. These things are called GAFFS. Watch for thisword too.
� TIP #10 - Don't EVER tell your audience what you're going todo before you do it. They'll know what to look for and thatmakes it harder to fool them.
� TIP #11 - Put some STP in your show - Showmanship, Tech-nique and Personality. Showmanship means you make it excit-ing. Technique means you do it well. Personality means youallow your real self to shine through.
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Food Chain of Rubber Bands
Secret Set-UpYou’ve got to make a DOUBLEWALLED paper bag. Here’show you do it.
1. Cut the first paper bag alongthe dotted line. (See illustra-tion 1)
2. Put the big leftover piece (A)in your recycling bin. Youwon't need it anymore.
3. Glue the smaller piece into thesecond paper bag along thesides and bottom. DO NOTglue the top. Use rubber ce-ment or white school glue.(See illustration 2 and 3)
4. This makes the secret com-partment.
Imagine a little grasshoppermunching on the leaf of a rasp-berry bush. He’s minding his ownbusiness when along comes aspider and the spider eats him.Then a bird comes along andeats the spider. Then a snakeeats the bird. The actors in thissordid tale - the raspberry bush,the grasshopper, the spider, thebird, and the snake - are all con-nected to each other through afood chain. They each share theneed for energy to live. They getthat energy from each other.When these creatures die, theirbodies return to the soil as nutri-ents for plants. Then the wholefood chain process starts overagain.
Here's a wonderful magic trickyou can do that will illustrate asimple food chain.
The EffectFive separate rubber bands aredropped into a paper bag andmagically link to each other justlike a food chain.
What You Need• ten rubber bands• two paper bags (the brown
“lunch bag” type is perfect)• a pair of scissors• some rubber cement• a table
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Illustration 3
Illustration2
Illustration 1
5. Let this sit until it’scompletely dry.
You’ve ALSO got to link therubber bands into a chain.
1. Cut four of the rubber bandswith your scissors.
2. Put a little rubber cement oneach of the cut ends. (Seeillustration 4)
3. Let them sit until they are dry(three to five minutes). Don’tlet the ends touch each otheryet.
4. Carefully loop the first cutrubber band through the uncutrubber band.
5. Touch the cut ends to eachother, and they will stick. Ifyou’re careful, you won’t evenbe able to tell that the rubberband has ever been cut. (Seeillustration 5)
6. Repeat this gluing until youhave five linked rubber bandsthat make a nice chain.
A B AB
Bag 1 Left over pieceBag 1 Bag 1
B
GLUE
B
Bag 2
Illustration 4
RubberCement
Illustration 5
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Illustration 6
7. Now put the rubber band chainin the main compartment of thepaper bag, NOT the secret com-partment. (See illustration 6)
8. Set the Double Walled paperbag, with the rubber band chaininside, on your table.
9. Now you’re ready to rock androll.
Showtime1. Show the five separate rubber
bands.
2. Let people look at each one.Collect them in your left hand.
3. Drop them one at a time intothe secret compartment of theDouble Walled paper bag withyour right hand. (See illustra-tion 7) Count them as you dothis.
4. Tell the audience about theimportance of food chains ANDhow each rubberband repre-sents a piece of one food chain.
5. Now, dramatically pull thelinked chain out of the maincompartment of the bag. Say,“All of the pieces of a food chainare connected to each otherthrough their shared need forenergy.”
6. Set the chain down on the table.
7. Hold the top of the bag withyour left hand and tear it inhalf. (See illustration 8) It will
Illustration 7
tear along the seam of thesecret compartment.
8. Show the pieces. There ap-pear to be no other rubberbands. (They're hidden in thewalls.)
9. You’ve magically linked theseparate pieces of a food chain.
Illustration 8
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Respect the Environment
•Reduce, Reuse, andRecycle your garbage.
These are the magic words for mak-ing your garbage disappear.They’re sometimes called the 3 -R’ s . Try to REDUCE the garbageyou make in the first place. Thinkbefore you buy something. Howmuch garbage will it create? Youalso need to REUSE things. Try toreuse old boxes, clothes, and toys.Reusing things uses even less en-ergy than recycling. After you’ve re-duced and reused then ... RECYCLEall the garbage that is left over.You’ll be amazed by the amount oftrash you can recycle. All of thesethings are recyclable: newspaper,writing paper, aluminum cans,glass bottles, plastic milk jugs, plas-tic bags, steel cans, and even mo-tor oil.
•Buy recycled stuff.Recycled products look exactly likenon-recycled products. You have tolook carefully for the recycled con-tent label on the box. This label letsyou know that the product is madewith materials that have been re-
cycled. Recycling only works whenyou BUY recycled products! Oth-erwise, recyclable stuff ends up go-ing straight to the landfill. Manyof the following recycled productscan be found in a store in yourneighborhood (notebook paper, in-dex cards, stationery, birthdaycards, computer paper, recycledpencils, cereal boxes, and evenflashlights). Look for the recycledlabel and buy that product.
•Avoid throwaway things!Disposable or throwaway cups,forks, plates, and napkins are madeto be used only once and thenthrown away. That’s not necessar-ily the best use of our natural re-sources. When possible, try to usereusable cups, forks, plates, andcloth napkins in place ofdisposables. (My family recentlyhad a very big party. There wereover 140 people at this party, andwe used reusable forks, plates, andcloth napkins. When the party wasover there was VERY LITTLE gar-bage because we’d used no throw-aways at all.)
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•Use reusable things.Why not take a lunch box insteadof a paper sack to school? Why notuse a cloth napkin instead of athrowaway paper one? Why not usea reusable airtight plastic containerinstead of a throwaway plastic bag?These are REUSABLE things. Tryit. You'll like it.
•Don’t take a bag...If you only buy one or two items atthe store, don’t take a bag. Whoneeds it anyway? It just cluttersup the car and wastes resources.
•Recycle!Collect your own recyclables athome, at school, or in your class-room; then recycle them. Findout if your school recycles.
•Use rechargeablebatteries.
Do you use batteries? Most peopledo. If you use a Gameboy, a flash-light, or a calculator, you probablyuse LOTS of batteries. Recharge-able batteries are slightly more ex-pensive, but they last 100 timeslonger than disposable batteries.That means you throw away fewerbatteries. That means you’ll be sav-ing the environment, and you’ll besaving money, too.
•Buy recycled stuff.I know I’ve already mentioned thisone, but it’s really, really important.
•Educate yourself.Read books about the world aroundyou. It’s really an amazing story!
The library is full of books on allkinds of fascinating subjects. Thebest thing is that the books are freeAND they're being used over andover again. Go get a library cardand check out a recycled book to-day.
•Did I mention...buy recycled?Oh yeah. I guess I did.
•Pass it on...Drop off old clothes,toys, books, gamesand magazines at yourlocal thrift store (Sal-vation Army Store,Goodwill, or a localchildren’s hospital).Somebody else will
love to have your old stuff. By theway, while you’re there shoparound. One of my favorite thingsto do is shop for toys, hats, clothes,basketballs, dishes, magazines, andbooks at thrift stores. They’re neverexpensive either. I recently boughta copy of the “Batman” book for 27cents. What a deal.
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•Don’t be an Eco-fingerpointer!
Remember, you and I willnever know EVERYTHINGthere is to know about our en-vironment (or anything elsefor that matter). So, help oth-ers to take care of the environ-ment. But BE PATIENT andunderstanding with them. Re-member the old saying: "Youcan catch more flies withhoney than you can with vin-egar").
•Take the “Steve Trash Pledge” and live by it!
“The Steve Trash Pledge”
I, ___________________________________, being a really cool person, prom-ise to respect myself, others and the environment.
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CO2 to O
2 Transformation
Did you know the leaves of trees absorb CARBON DIOXIDE (CO2) andrelease OXYGEN (O2). It’s one of the many AMAZING things that makeslife on earth possible. We all work together to keep life on earth going.Even breathing helps. We breathe out CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) every timewe exhale. Trees and other greenplants breathe in CO2. So theytake the CO2 out of the surround-ing air. They’re so happy thatthey thank us by releasing freshOxygen (O2). Our bodies can’tlive without fresh oxygen, so it’sa great partnership. These kindsof partnerships run throughoutnature. Here’s a great magictrick that illustrates this.Check it out.
The EffectA ping pong ball is shown to theaudience. With a BLUE crayonyou write the symbol for carbon-dioxide (CO2) on it. Then youwrap the ball in a large greenscarf that is cut in the shape of amaple leaf. Each person in youraudience is allowed to reach be-neath the cloth to feel the ball andmake sure it's still there. Every-one says, “Yes it is.” You hand thebundled leaf and ball to someonein the audience and they open it.The symbol for oxyen (O2) is nowwritten on the ping pong ball. Ithas magically transformed fromCO2 to O2. Just like the naturalworld!
What You Need
• two ping-pong balls (Any smallballs that look alike will do.)
• a blue crayon
• a green piece of cloth cut intothe shape of a maple leaf (ap-proximately 18" x 18")
• a secret helper
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What You Need To Make1. Take your blue crayon and
write O2 on one of the ping-pong balls.
2. Cut a piece of green cloth intothe shape of a leaf. You don'thave to be exact. Just make itlook kinda like a leaf. (See theillustration 1)
Secret Set-Up1. Find a friend who will be your
secret helper. She actuallyswitches the balls FOR you.
2. Rehearse switching the ballswith your secret helper. Haveher reach under the cloth. Sheswitches the ball she is SE-CRETLY holding for the oneyou are holding. Do this undercover of the leaf shaped cloth(See illustration 2). She mustpretend that she’s just reach-ing in to feel the ball and noth-ing more. The whole illusiondepends on this.
3. Once you’ve rehearsed theswitch, you’re ready to get onwith the show.
4. Have your secret helper hidethe ball with the blue O2 in hisor her hand. Don't worry noone will suspect.
Showtime1. Show the blank ping-pong ball
to everyone.
2. Draw the letters CO2 on withthe blue crayon. Draw theletters about the same size asthe blue O2 letters you drew onthe OTHER ping-pong ball.
3. Drape the green leaf shapedcloth over both your hands.Hold the blue CO2 ball in yourright hand while cupping yourleft hand on top. (See illustra-tion 2) Now you are in positionto trade your ball with the oneyour secret helper is holding.
4. Ask the first person (not yoursecret helper) to reach underthe cloth and feel the ball. Askthem if the CO2 ball is stillthere. When they say “yes”,move to the next person.
5. Ask three or four people toreach under the cloth and feelthe ball. Ask them all if the CO2ball is still there.
6. When you reach your secrethelper, have her reach under
Illustration 1
18"
18"
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the cloth like everyone else.Have her secretly switch theball she is holding for the oneyou are holding. Do this undercover of the leaf shaped cloth.Try to do this at about thesame speed you did with every-one else. Ask her if it is stillthere? She says “yes.”
7. Move back to the center of theroom. Everyone still believesthat you are holding the CO2Ball. (But you’re not ... hee,hee, hee!)
8. When all the attention is backon you, your secret helper putsthe extra ball in her pocket.
9. Now you’ve got to really hamit up. Say, “Trees and greenplants absorb the Carbon Diox-ide that people exhale. They
transform that CO2 into oxy-gen for us to breath. Watch.”
10. Roll the cloth into a bundlearound the ball.
11. Give the bundle to someoneto hold (not your secrethelper). If possible, give it tosomeone sitting away fromyour helper. Pass your handsover the bundle two or threetimes and say, “The CarbonDioxide CO2 has now becomeO2 Oxygen. Check it out.”
12. When he opens the bundle,he’ll be totally stunned. Theball has been magically trans-formed. It’s sort of like themagic of mother nature.
Illustration 2
Left hand ofsecret helper
Your hands
Leaf shapedcloth
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Anti-Gravity WaterThe natural world is very mysterious. People have always tried tocreate theories that explain why things happen. You can do this, too.You can make observations, create theories, and test them. This iscalled the "scientific method." Here’s how it works:
1. Make an observation about theworld.22222. Create a theory that mightexplain the observation.3. Create an experiment to testthis theory.4. Draw a conclusion about theaccuracy of your theory.
Sometimes things that happen innature seem to defy natural laws,but that’s not possible. Here’s agreat example. Water stays in aglass that’s turned upside down.It’s looks like MAGIC, but it’sreally physical SCIENCE at work.Can you create a theory thatexplains why it doesn't fall out?
The Effect A postcard is placed over themouth of a glass of water. It isturned upside down, and nowater comes out.
What You Need• picture postcard• glass• water• towel (to clean up any mess youmight make)
Secret Set-UpFill the glass with water.
Showtime1. Show the glass of water.
2. Place the postcard over themouth of the glass with yourleft hand. (See illustration 1)
3. Hold the postcard against themouth of the glass with yourleft hand.
4. Pick up the glass with yourright hand.
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5. Slowly turn the glass over andhold the postcard tightlyagainst it with your left hand.(See illustration 2)
6. The postcard will stick to themouth of the glass, and thewater will remain inside. Itlooks magic, but it’s reallyscience. (See illustration 3)
7. Hold the post card against themouth of the glass with yourhand. Turn the glass uprightagain and slide the post cardoff. Science rules!
Illustration 1
Illustration 3
Illustration 2
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Garbage to Pennies Garbage is a natural resource. All natural resources are valuable.
Illustration 1
The EffectA soup can full of garbage istransformed into a whole lot ofpennies.
What You Need• two empty metal soup cans (that
look exactly alike)• 50-100 pennies• shredded paper and assorted
small garbage• thick corrugated cardboard• black poster board• scissors• white glue• dinner plate• cloth handkerchief or bandanna
What You Need To Make1. Cut disk #1 out of the poster
board. Trace the outside of thecan to get the size exactlyright. (See illustration 1)
2. Now cut the corrugated card-board in a circle just slightlysmaller than the poster boardcircle. This disk should beable to fit into the can veryeasily. (See illustration 2)
3. Glue the two disks togetherand allow them to dry com-pletely. (See illustration 2)
Disk #1
Illustration 2
Glue stuff to thisside
Disk #2 (Cut to fitinside of can)
Disk #2
Disk #1
Glued
4. Glue some shredded paper andother small pieces of garbageto the poster board side of thedisk. (See illustration 2 )
5. Fill one of the cans with pen-nies almost to the top.
6. Place the disk on top of thiscan. Leave the other can empty.
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out a second batch of garbage.Actually you LEAVE the emptycan and PICK-UP the gim-micked can with the garbagedisk on top.
6. Hold it up in the air like youdid the first time.
7. Brush some of the garbage offthe top of the disk. Say, "Gar-bage". It will appear that youhave a can that is completelyfull of garbage.
8. Cover the can with the cloth.
9. Now say, “Garbage is a naturalresource. Natural resourcesare valuable. Garbage is valu-able.”
10. As you are pulling the clothoff the can, secretly grab theedge of the disk and pull itaway too.
11. Casually drop the cloth andthe hidden garbage disk intothe cardboard box.
12. Pour the pennies out of thecan onto the plate and showthe transformation. GarbageIS valuable!
Secret Set-Up1. Put both the metal cans into
your cardboard box filled withsmall garbage. (See illustra-tion 3).
2. One can has the 50 - 100 pen-nies, and the disk is placed ontop.
3. The other can has nothing atall in it.
4. Set the bandanna on the table.
5. Set the box on the table.
6. Set the plate on the table.
Showtime1. Lift the first can out of the box
and show that it’s empty. Say,“This box is full of garbage.”
2. Dip the empty can into the boxand scoop out some of thegarbage.
3. Hold this can up and showthat it’s now FULL of garbage.
4. Pour the garbage back into thebox slowly.
5. Reach back into the box withthe can and pretend to scoop
Illustration 3
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Respect Others•Treat other people like you’d
like to be treated yourself.This is sometimes called the “goldenrule.” Treat others the way youwould want them to treat you. In justabout everything we do, this is thebest guideline to follow. So, here’show you do it. When youdon’t know how totreat someone,imagine that youare in thatperson’s situation.Ask yourself howyou’d like to betreated. Then, what-ever the answer is ...DO IT. Use thegolden rule as ameasuring stickto check out yourdaily actions.
•Be helpfulto other people.Look for ways to be helpful. If you’rereally good in a particular subjectat school, then help somebody elsein your class with their homework.(Don’t do it for them. That wouldn’tbe helping; that would be cheating.It won’t do either of you any good.)Help your mom with the groceries.Help wash the dishes. Help washyour dog. If you don’t have a dog,
then wash your fish. (Nope, sorry,he’s probably clean enough.)Remember... the help that yougive someone is really important tothat person, BUT it is even MOREimportant to YOU. When you dogood for others, you’re also doing
good for yourself. You becomea better person every time
you help others. That’s akey to making the world abetter place to live. (Oh
yeah, the best way to helpothers is to do so willingly
without pay or reward. Youcan work for pay, but
don’t take moneyfor just beinghelpful.)
•Tell thetruth.
Here’s a RE-ALLY REALLY
BIG ONE! Don’t lie. Betruthful. Even when you mess
something up really badly. If youtell the truth, people will trust you,and they will learn to depend onyou. As a bonus, people who tell thetruth also trust themselves to do ex-actly what they say they will do.This builds self-confidence and selfesteem. Anyone can slip up andmake a mistake (and you will), butkeep tryingto be honest.
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•Be respectful.Being respectful means being cour-teous and polite. It’s how you showothers they are valuable. Be re-spectful to your teachers, your par-ents, and your friends. There arelots of different kinds of people inthe world. Being respectfuland having good mannerswill make it easier forthe whole world to getalong.
•Be kind to allanimals and takegood care of them. Don’thurt or kill harmlesscreatures without reason.The world is full of people that dobad stuff. There is no reason to addmore bad deeds to the mix. Manycreatures are so helpless that theycan’t even defend themselves. Be-cause we are strong, it is always ourresponsibility to protect the weakand help them when we can. Don’tever hurt or kill unless it’s for yourown biological survival (food, cloth-ing, or shelter). If you are a hunter,then take full responsibility foryour actions. Respectfully use ev-erything that the animal’s bodygives you (the meat, the hide, thebones, etc). If you don’t use every-thing, you’re being wasteful, andit’s disrespectful to the animalwhose life you’ve taken.
•Obey rules and laws.There are lots of rules and laws. Ifyou think the rules or laws you haveto obey are unfair or wrong, thenwrite letters and lobby your law-makers to have them changed.
•Be thrifty.This is a really old fashioned
word, but it’s very impor-tant. Thrifty people do notwaste.
(1) Thrifty people usethe earth’s natural re-sources wisely.
(2) They use their timewisely. (They don’t waste
time watching stupid TVshows like they’re a bunch ofbig fat hairy couch potatoes.)
(3) They use their propertywisely. (They take care of theirtoys, their room, and thingspeople lend them.)
(4) They work to pay their ownway and to help others do thesame. Many thrifty peopleshop at thrift stores.
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•Don’t take things thataren’t yours.
If you ever consider taking some-thing from someone else, then thinkabout this. If someone stole some-thing that was yours, let's say theytook your... watch. How would youfeel? I’ll bet you’d feel prettycrummy. You might even get mad.Why would you feel mad? Becausethat person has no right to takesomething that is yours. Theydidn’t work for it. They didn’t earnit. They just wanted to take a shortcut to getting what they wanted.People who take things that aren’ttheirs are lazy and selfish. Theydon’t want to work and save to getthose things. They want them rightnow. Unfortunately, by stealing theylose all of the personal pride thatcomes from owning something thatyou worked hard to get. Honestyand hard work carry their own re-wards. Don’t ever steal.
•Be friendly.It really doesn’t take a lot of effortto be friendly. Smile at otherpeople. Try to get to know them.Say, " Hello." Getting to know otherpeople can be fun, and it may showyou how interesting other peopleare. People without friends are usu-ally only interested in themselves.Being friendly is essentially accept-ing another person as he or she is,not as you think he or she shouldbe. Try to make some new friendsat school.
•Be Brave, but don’t ever take foolish chances.Stand up for what you believe isright. When others laugh at orthreaten you for not stealing, or notlying, or not using drugs, stand talland be brave. Don’t do it! Now Iknow some people who believe be-ing brave means that you’re neverafraid. No way... that’s not it at all.It means that you will stand up forwhat is right even when you areafraid. Everyone can becomeafraid. Be brave and strong, anddon’t ever take foolish chances!
•Be a Peace Builder.This is a tough one. When you arein an argument or in conflict withsomebody, do everything you canto resolve the conflict withoutviolence. Walk away if you can. Dif-fuse the situation. The world needsless violence!
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“WEB OF LIFE”People are a part of the “Web of Life.”
It sustains all life on Earth.
The EffectA string representing one strandin the “web of life” is cut with apair of scissors. The cut pieces aretrimmed off and they fall to thefloor. The magician says, “Every-thing is connected in the web oflife,” and the string is made wholeagain.
What You Need• a two foot long piece of string
(thicker string will show upbetter)
• a secret loop of string (seveninches long)
• a pair of scissors
The web of life is a concept that illustrates howconnected everything on earth is. Imag-ine a HUGE spider web with many differ-ent strands that interconnect and inter-relate to each other. Every kid inthe world is a part of the web oflife. Every animal is a part of theweb of life. The plants, the trees,the air, the water, the weird littlepurple bugs that you’ve never heard ofare all individual strands in the web oflife. Each one makes his own little contri-bution to sustaining life on Earth.
We can’t see the web. We can’t feel the web, but it’sreal. Because we are a part of the web of life, we need to take care of it.
What You Need To MakeYou need to make the Secret Loop
of string.
1. Cut off a piece of string aboutseven inches long.
2. Put its two ends together.
3. Tie these two ends into a knot.
4. This should leave you with atear drop shaped loop of string(The loop should be about twoinches tall).
5. Cut off the two loose pieces ofstring that are now stickingout of the knot. You now have
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a loop with a knot at the bot-tom. This is your SECRETLOOP. (See illustration 1)
Secret Set-Up1. Before the show, put the SE-
CRET LOOP in you left handwith your fingers looselywrapped around it. (See illus-tration 2)
(A special note: Remember tohold your hand as naturally aspossible. People will only besuspicious if you give them areason to be.)
2. The middle of the two footlong string is held by yourright hand. Now you’re readyto go.
Showtime1. Show the string with your
right hand. Say, “The stringrepresents one strand in theweb of life.”
2. Put the long string into yourleft hand and pull the SecretLoop up to the top of your lefthand. This will look to theaudience like it's the middle ofthe two foot long string. (Seeillustration 3)
3. Immediately pick up the scis-sors with your right hand andshow them to the audience.
4. Take the scissors and cut theSecret Loop. It will look like
Illustration 2Illustration 1
Illustration 3
you’ve cut the string in half.(see illustration 4)
5. Show this cut to the audience.Now clip two more pieces off
2"
Secret Loop Of String Holding the Secret Loop
Illustration 4
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Illustration 5
the SECRET LOOP. Let thesepieces fall to the floor. Nowpretend to clip the third pieceof the string with your scis-sors, but really just let theknot and leftover SECRETLOOP piece fall to the floor.Don’t cut the two foot piece ofstring!
6. Still holding the middle of thestring say, “Everything isconnected in the web of life.”
7. Show the audience that thestring is restored. (See illus-tration 5)
(This is a wonderful trick. I evenuse a version of it in my stageshow.)
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Respect Yourself•Eat food that’s good foryour body. Food supplies theenergy that our bodies need tobreathe, sweat, heal, and sleep.Eating good food is the best way tostay healthy. Foods that are goodfor your body include: fruits andvegetables, whole grain breads,water, and milk. (Try to eat lessjunk food and candy. Too manycandy bars and potato chipscan rot out your teeth andmake you sick.) When youchoose to eat good food you’llgrow stronger, feel better, and havelots of energy to do the excitingthings you want to do!
•Read a good book. Read-ing may be hard for you. Believeme. I understand. When I was akid it was REALLY REALLYTOUGH on me, but it IS worth thetrouble. Because reading will opena whole new world to you. Any sub-ject that you’re interested in can befound in a good book. (Stuff aboutthe Big Bang, Barbie & Ken,Gregorian chants, burps, or evenmagic tricks.) You name it, and youcan read about it. What are youwaiting for?
•Be as neat and clean asyou can. You’ll feel better, lookbetter, and definitely smell better.Whoa!
•Enjoy life. It’s fun.Smile. Have some fun. Enjoy life.
•Be cheerful. Look on thebright side of things. Smile. Be op-timistic. (Here's an experiment Itried recently. Every time some-thing difficult or challenging hap-pened to me, I would think to my-self, “Things usually work out forthe best. So I'm going to do every-thing I possibly can to meet thechallenge and then forget about it.”It’s been working so far. Try it.)Cheerfully do the jobs that you areasked to do. You create your moods.I know this sounds crazy, but it’strue. You’re happy because you’vedecided to be happy. You’re sad be-cause you’ve decided to be sad.You’re grumpy because you’ve de-cided to be grumpy. So try to lookon the bright side of things. You’llfeel better. You’ll even look better.
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your creator has something won-derful in mind for you and your life.Try to discover what it is and thengo for it!
•Get 8 hours of sleepevery night. Everyone’s bodyneeds time to grow, rebuild itself,and fight off disease. You’ll feel bet-ter, work smarter, and have morefun if you get a good night's rest. Istill try for eight hours of “snooze-time” every night!
•Don’t put anything in yourbody that will harm it.
Smoking anything is bad for yourlungs and your heart. Drinking lotsof alcohol is bad for all parts of yourbody. Illegal drugs are REALLY badfor your body. In fact, they’re justsubstitutes for “real” fun. They caneven harm your spirit. Don’t do any-thing to harm your body, your mind,or your spirit.
•Run, skip, jump, hop, orwalk around as fast as youcan.It’s great for your body, your mind,and your spirit. Remember, we arespiritual beings, having a humanexperience.
•Take some private timeto pray, meditate, or just to bethankful for your many blessings.This is the key to living a balancedlife. Find a quiet place to do this.Then, close your eyes and find thequiet place inside yourself.
•Study hard at school.I know this may be hard for you,but hear me out. Some of the sub-jects at school may not be that in-teresting to you (I thought AlgebraII was totally the pits), but the sub-ject isn’t necessarily the importantthing. What’s important is usingyour MIND. Using your mind tosolve challenges may even be moreimportant than the subject you’restudying. Here’s why... as long asyou live, you’re going to face chal-lenges and problems. (Things thataren’t easy, but you must solve any-way.) If you’ve developed yourmind, you’ll be able to handle anyproblem that comes your way. Lookat your tough school subjects asboot-camp for problem solving inthe future.
•Give yourself a hug. Youare special. No... really. I mean it.You are! There is no one in the uni-verse like you. You have special tal-ents. You have a special voice. Youhave special freckles. You have spe-cial ears. You have a special role forbeing on the earth at this time andat this place. So give yourself a bighug for being one of a kind. You arewonderful.
•Do something great withyour life. Do you ever dream ofbeing something great? Then chasethat dream. Be a teacher, an ecolo-gist, an artist, a garbage-man (Idid... and my mom is sooo proud!)or whatever it is that you thinkyou’d like to be. Remember that
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The Forest TrickThe average American uses the equivalent of seven trees a year (forwriting on, living in, sitting on, sleeping on, reading, staying warmwith, hitching their horses up to). These trees come from forests. Forestshave many uses.
� Forests can be used to providelumber to build houses and furni-ture or to make paper.� Forests can also be used toprovide medicines to heal peoplewho are very sick (treatments forcancers have been discovered intropical rainforests).� Forests can also be used asplaces to relax, clear your head,and get close to nature.� Forests also provide homes(called habitats) for a wide varietyof plants and animals. Thesehabitats support the ecosystemsthat, in turn, support the web oflife that, in turn, support us that,in turn, support the habitats ...well, you get the idea.� Forests also provide some of theclean air we need to live. When we make decisions abouthow to use forests, we must keepall the uses in balance, so that onedoesn't harm the others. This iscalled forest management.
The Effect A glass is balanced magically onthe top edge of a playing card.
What You Need
• an old deck of cards
• wine, champagne, OR anyglass with a stem
• glue
• leaves, bark, pine needles,twigs, or anything else you canthink of to represent forests
• a heavy book
Secret Set-Up
1. Take two cards out of thedeck.
2. Fold card #1 in half from sideto side. (See illustration 1)
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Illustration2
Illustration 3
Illustration1
3. Now glue the front left side ofthe folded card #1 to the backleft side of card #2. (See illus-tration 2) Try to match theedges of the cards carefully.
4. Place a heavy book on top ofthe cards to flatten them out.Let the cards dry completely.
5. Once dry, you have a card witha flap that opens and closes.(See illustration 3)
6. When closed it looks like asingle playing card. This isyour gimmicked card.
7. Put the leaves, bark, pineneedles, etc. in the wine glass.Now you’re ready to go.
Showtime1. Show both sides of the GIM-
MICKED card. When it's foldedflat it looks totally normal.
2. Put the card into your righthand with your left hand.
3. Allow the flap to come open.
4. Hold the flap open with yourright hand. (See illustration 4)
5. Pick up the wine glass withyour left hand. Say, “Thisglass symbolized our forests.”
6. Set the wine glass on the gim-micked card in your righthand. (See illustration 5) Say,“Each way we use our forestsmust be in balance with theother ways we use them.”
Fold along this line
Back of card #1
#1
Glue on this sideonly
#2
#1
Gimmicked card
#1
#2Flap
Illustration 4
Gimmicked card
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7. Draw your left hand awayslowly from the balanced wineglass. The wine glass willappear to be balanced on theslender edge of a playing card.It’s really balanced on the edgeand the secret flap.
8. Lift the glass off with your lefthand.
9. Immediately close the flap ofthe gimmicked playing cardwith your right thumb andfirst finger.
10. Show both sides of the gim-micked card again.
11. You’ve balanced the glass onthe edge of a playing card.
Illustration 5
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Disappearing BugEvery species has a right to be here.
An ugly green bug has just as much right to be here as anything else.That bug might be doing something very important that you're unawareof. It may be eating mosquitos or pollinating flowers. Wiping out anentire species of anything is irresponsible. In fact, protecting the diver-sity of life on earth is a very important part of OUR survival. The morediverse any biological system is, the better it is able to adapt to changes.Take care of it an it will take care of you.
2. Draw a question mark on thesecond piece of cardboard. (Seeillustration 1)
3. Take a full sheet of newspaper(one that folds in the middlefrom top to bottom) and lay itflat on the floor or on a table.
4. Starting at the bottom, cut italong the fold all the way tothe top. This will leave youwith two pieces of paper abouttwenty-two inches tall by four-teen inches wide.
Illustration 1
The EffectYou show a small picture of a bug.
The picture is wrapped in anewspaper and given to some-one to hold. You wave yourhands and say, “Good-bye,-Bug”and the bug has vanished for-ever.
What You Need• a table to set the props on• two sheets of newspaper• white glue• two pieces of stiff white card-
board (at least five inches byfive inches)
• markers or crayons• a magic wand (this can be any
kind of stick, pencil, or even apen)
• scissors
What You Need To Make
1. Draw or cut out a picture of abug and glue it onto the firstpiece of cardboard.
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5. Take a second sheet of newspa-per and cut it into two piecesjust like the first. You shouldnow have four, twenty-two inchby fourteen inch sheets.
Secret Set-Up
1. Fold each twenty-two inch byfourteen inch sheet of newspa-per in half.
2. Stack the four newspapersheets on the table. The openends should face you.
3. Lift up the top sheet of news-paper, then slide the questionmark (?) picture in.
4. Count three sheets down fromthe top of the stack. Bend thefront edge of these pagesslightly upwards. (This willmake it easier to pick up theright newspaper edge later.)
Showtime
1. With your right hand, showthe piece of cardboard with thepicture of the bug on it.
2. With your left thumb andfingers lift the top three pagesin the stack of newspapers.
3. Slide the bug picture into thenewspaper with your righthand. Put it under the thirdpage from the top.(See illustration 2)
4. Immediately, grab the topfolded piece of newspaper with
your left hand, leaving the bugpicture in the newspaper stillon the table. You’ve secretlygripped the hidden questionmark picture.
5. Fold the newspaper aroundthis picture and hand thewhole package to someone inyour audience.
6. Take your time on this part.The hard work is already done.
7. Wave your hands magically inthe air and say, “Good byebug.”
8. Ask the person holding thepicture to unwrap it.
9. Show everyone that the bughas magically disappeared.
Illustration2
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The Earth is a Wild Place!
As far as we know, it’s like no other planet in the whole universe. What doyou think makes it so special? Size? Nope, there are smaller planets, andthere are bigger planets. It’s really colorful? Nope, there are even morecolorful planets in our own solar system. It’s got a really funky name?Well, yeah, but that’s not exactly what I was thinking of.
The earth provides everything you and I need to live: air, land, and water.
We absolutely cannot live without clean air, clean land, and clean water.Our bodies will die (you know... croak, cease to exist, hasta la vista baby,take the last train to DARKSVILLE ...get my drift?) without them.The planet Earth is like a “state of the art” spaceship. It has all the latestgadgets and gismos, flashing lights, and hip TV game shows, but its mostexciting feature is its life support system.
A LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM IS ANY MACHINE THATPRODUCES ESSENTIAL HUMAN NEEDS LIKE AIR,
WATER, AND LAND.
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Our life support system is called the Web of Life. We have clean air tobreathe thanks to the web. We have clean water to drink, thanks to theweb, and we have abundant food thanks to the web. If we start messing
with the web of life by polluting, overusingresources, and over populating, we disturb nature's balance. Disturbingnature’s balance is no trivial thing either because you and I are a part
of the web. So what affects the web will affect all of us.
Holy Cow!So what do we do? With so many people out there, how do we keep from
totally messing up the web? Good question! Mother Nature is incred-ibly smart! She created the “web of life” with certain rules or principles
that control and guide all life on earth.(Mother Nature is not actually a he or a she.
It is an intelligent force that creates and regenerates life on the planet.)If you and I violate these principles, we’ll suffer the consequences.
(We’ll get bodyslammed by Mother Nature, so to speak.)Using these principles as a guide we can build our lives
in greater harmony with nature.What does living in
greater harmony withnature mean?It means living
happier, healthier, and longer.
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Some of Mother Nature's
Eco-Principles
Here they are... Read ‘em, learn ‘em, teach ‘em to your dog (Nevermind, he already knows them). Teach them to your friends instead.
� Everyone is downstream or downwind from someone else.In nature there is no “away.”
� People are a part of the Web of Lifewhether or not they realize it.
� Every species has a right to be here.
� The earth's resources are here to be used, butmust be used wisely.
�Renewable resources must be used no fasterthan they can be replaced.
� Nonrenewable resources must be reused or recycled, orthey are being wasted.
� Mother Nature provides the principles to live by.If we live by them, we live happy, healthy, and long lives.
If we don’t, we get bodyslammed.
Mother nature recycles everything: the air, the land, thewater. Nothing in nature is ever wasted.
People have a unique power to change the world.
� We cannot have a healthy economy in a sick environment.They're both important.
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The Web SpinPeople and nature are connected. We affect nature. Nature affects us.We are all connected to each other through the Web of Life. Manypeople don’t SEE their connection to nature, but it's real.
The EffectA drawing of a person and a draw-ing of the web of life magicallymelt together illustrating theconnection that exists betweenpeople and nature.
What You Need
• drawing of a person & the webof life (you can trace or copythe one we’ve provided)
• drawing of the web of life
• tape
• pencil
What You Need To Make1. Make a copy of illustration 1.
2. Cut out along the thick blackline. (See illustration 1)
3. Fold illustration 1 in halfalong the dotted line. (Seeillustration 1)
4. Tape the pencil in the middle.(See illustration 2)
5. Fold the card down and tape itshut. (See illustration 3)
6. Now you're ready to go.
Illustration 1
Fold here
Illustration 2
Illustration 3
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Showtime
1. Show the “person” on sideone. Say “People and natureare connected.”
2. Show the “web of life” on sidetwo. Say, “Nature and peopleare connected.”
3. Say, “They appear to be sepa-rate, but they are not. Watch.”
4. Spin the pencil between yourhands (as if you are rubbingthem together to stay warm).(See illustration 4) This willspin the pencil and drawingstogether. It will create theOPTICAL ILLUSION that thetwo images are blended to-gether. This is a cool scienceprinciple that appears to be amagic trick that illustrates adifferent science principle.Whew that's tricky!
Illustration 4
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Vanishing GarbageWhen we throw garbage away, it doesn’t disappear.
It just goes somewhere else.Remember, in nature there is NO AWAY.
Your AWAY is always going to be someone else's RIGHT HERE.
the match stick. (See illustra-tion 1)
4.Tie the safety pin to the otherend of the black elastic (not tootight... you will need to adjustit).
5.Hook the safety pin to theinside middle of your of yourjacket. (See illustration 2)
6.Pull the garbage can aroundthe left side of your body withyour right hand and put it inyour left hand. Put on the coat.It should easily stretch to thisposition. If it doesn’t, then
The EffectA small garbage can is shown tothe audience. It is thrown intothe air and vanishes. You reachinto your pocket, and there it is.Your away is someone elsesright here!
What You Need• two small garbage cans (they
must the be same size andcolor.)
• piece of black elastic (at leasttwo feet long)
• small match stick (broken inhalf)
• safety pin• jacket or coat
Secret Set-Up1.Make a small hole in the
bottom of one of the smallgarbage cans. Make it justlarge enough to push theelastic through.
2.Push the elastic through thishole.
3.Tie this end of the elastic to
38Illustration 3
Illustration 2
lengthen the amount of elas-tic you are using. Your coatand left arm should hide theelastic. (See illustration #3)As you move your hand upand away from your body, thetension will increase on theelastic. Let go and the gar-bage can will fly back underyour coat. Practice this secretmove because it is the essenceof this trick.
7.Before the show starts, putthe ungimmicked garbagecan (the one with NO elasticattached to it) in your rightcoat pocket.
8.Take the gimmicked garbagecan and put it in your lefthand. The elastic should behidden by the arm and yourcoat. Now you’re ready to go.
Showtime
1.Show the garbage can in yourcupped left and right hands.(See illustration 4)
2.Tell your audience, “When youthrow away your garbage, itdoesn’t disappear...”
3.While you’re saying this, cupyour right hand over the top,hiding the garbage can. (Seeillustration 5)
4.Simultaneously turn yourbody to the right and lift bothhands up, forward, and to the
Illustration 1
Elastic (audience cannotsee the elastic)
Coat
You
39
right. As you do this, let thegarbage can secretly shootback under your coat. Theelastic pulls it into the coat.
5.Rub your hands together as ifyou’re making the garbagesmaller and smaller andsmaller. Blow on your hands.
Illustration 4
Elastic (audience cannotsee the elastic) attached toinside of coat
Cover garbage can withright hand
Illustration 5
6.Then open your hands to showthat the garbage can has disap-peared. And say, “Your garbagedoesn’t disappear it just goessomewhere else.”
7.Reach into your jacket pocketand pull out the second gar-bage can. The audience willbelieve it's the one you justmade dissappear!
40
Recycled Pencil TransformationBuying recycled stuff is one of the best ways to make recycling evenmore successful. There are many things that you can buy that are madeof recycled materials including pencils. The recycled pencil is usuallymade of recycled paper and cardboard. Here’s a trick you can do with arecycled pencil.
Secret Set-Up1.Make a red paper shell gim-
mick. Cut the shiney red paperto fit around the pencil. (Seeillustration 1) Wrap it aroundthe recycled pencil.
2.Glue or tape the red paperalong its seam. It now makes ashell that can slide easily onand off the recycled pencil. Tryit a few times. (See illustration2)
3.Put the gimmicked pencil (withthe red shell on it) in the canwith the other pencils.
The EffectSome wooden pencils are shown in a steel can(like soup comes in). One pencil is pulled outand shown (It’s red). It is rolled up in a pieceof paper. The magician says, “Buy recycledstuff.” The pencil is poured out of thepiece of paper onto the table. It hasmagically changed from red toyellow. It’s also now a recycledpencil made of recycled news-papers and cardboard.
What You Need• unsharpened recycled pencil
(yellow)• tin or steel can (just like soup
comes in)• five or six pencils of various
colored handles (unsharpened)• writing paper (approximately
10 inches by 10 inches)• shiny red gift wrapping paper• scissors• yellow crayon
41
W O O D
RED PAPER SHELL
Illustration 2
recycled pencil
Red paper
Illustration 1
4.Write the letters W-O-O-D on apiece of writing paper with ayellow crayon. (See illustration2)
Showtime1.Bring out the can of pencils.
The gimmicked pencil is mixedin with them. Shake the pen-cils.
2.Pull out the gimmicked redpencil. Say, “This pencil ismade of wood.” Point to thepiece of paper that says W-O-O-D with the gimmicked pen-cil.
3.Now roll the gimmicked pencilup in the piece of paper thatsays W-O-O-D. Roll it prettytight. Say, “Watch this...thispencil is now a recycled pencilmade of recycled paper andcardboard.”
4.Hold the pencil upright and letit slide out of the rolled paper.The red shell should not slideout with the pencil. (See illus-tration 3)
5.Crumple the piece of writingpaper into a ball and put itinto your pocket. This destroysthe evidence of your secret redpaper gimmick.
6.Hand the pencil out to youraudience for examination.
Illustration 3
42
Vanishing Silver PebbleThe earth's resources should be used, but they should be used wisely.Remember these two principles whenever you want to use a resource:(1) Renewable resources must be used NO FASTER than they can replaced.(2) Nonrenewable resources must be recycled and reused again, or they arebeing wasted.
The EffectA small pebble painted silver(representing the nonrenewablemineral silver) is dropped into aglass of water. It’s covered with abandanna. You say, “Nonrenew-able resources that aren’t re-cycled... are being wasted.” Thebandanna is taken away from theglass, and the silver pebble isgone.
What You Need• two small flat pebbles• silver paint• clear tape• dark colored bandanna or scarf.
(black, blue, red, purple, etc.)• piece of thread (the same color
as the bandanna)• glass of water• empty glass• scissors• box (a shoe box will do nicely)• sewing needle• table• glue
What You Need To Make1. You need to make a special
gimmicked bandanna. Lay thebandanna out flat on a table.
2. Sew a piece of thread to thecenter of this bandanna.
3. Tape the first silver pebble tothe thread about 7 inches fromthe bandanna.
4. Trim off the extra thread be-low the taped pebble.
5. Turn your bandanna com-pletely over.
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6. Now pick up the bandanna bythe middle with your left hand.The pebble will hang down, butyou should not be able to see it.(If you can see the pebble,shorten the thread, and tapethe pebble back on again.)(See illustration 1)
Secret Set-Up1. Now, with your right hand
reach under the folds of thebandanna and grab the at-tached pebble A.
2. Put pebble A (under the ban-danna) into your left fingers.You are now holding the pebblethrough the bandanna. (Seeillustration 2)
3. Lay this down so you can eas-ily grab the pebble and ban-danna together. Lay it in thebox.
4. Set the glass of water into theshoe box.
5. Set the second pebble into theshoe box.
6. Set the empty glass into theshoe box.
7. Carefully set the shoe box inthe center of your table. (Seeillustration 3)
Illustration 2
Illustration 1
Illustration 3
String
Pebble
Underside ofBandanna
44
Showtime
1. Take the glass of water out ofthe shoe box and show it toeveryone. Set it back into thebox.
2. Pick-up the gimmicked ban-danna with your right fingers.
3. At the same time, pick up thesecond pebble with your leftfingers.
4. Show the pebble with your lefthand to the audience.
5. Put this pebble under thebandanna. It should look likeyou’re putting it into yourright hand through the ban-danna. (You’re not really doingthis.) (See illustration #4)
6. Your left hand secretly keepsit's pebble as the bandanna ispulled away to the right. (Seeillustration #5)
7. The shape of the attachedpebble is seen through thefabric of the bandanna in theright hand, as if it were theother pebble.
8. Casually drop the pebble (heldin your left hand) into the shoebox as you pick up the glass ofwater. (Don’t be nervous aboutthis; no one will suspect.)
9. With your left hand, hold theglass up for everyone to see.
Illustration 4
Illustration 5
45
Illustration 6
15. Pour the water from the fullglass into the empty one. Thepebble has vanished com-pletely.
NOTE: If you want to hand outall of the items for inspectionafter the trick, you’ll need to doa little more work. Here’s whatyou need to do. Wad up anextra bandanna, just like thespecial one, in your right rearpocket. As you lift the ban-danna with the attached pebbleoff the glass of water, put itinto your back pocket. Pour thewater into the empty glass. Setthe full glass down. With yourright hand, reach into yourback pocket and pull the extrabandanna out (not the specialbandanna) and dry off the wetglass. The audience will believeit’s the same bandanna. Thenyou can hand everything out.Wow! What a great trick...
Your fingers should be at thebottom of the glass.
10. Drape the bandanna over theglass with your right hand.(See illustration 6)
11. Carefully drop the attachedpebble into the glass of water.Let everyone hear it drop. (Seeillustration 7)
12. Now you say, “Resources thataren’t used wisely... disappear.”
13. As you say the word, “disap-pear,” pull the bandanna upand away from the glass. Showeveryone that the pebble hasvanished. Then, lay the ban-danna back into the box.
14. Grab the empty glass fromthe shoe box with your righthand.
Illustration 7
46
Linking Paper ClipsWe cannot have a healthy economy in a sick environment.
Our economy and our environment are so tied together, that to survive,BOTH must be cared for.
Economy = how people make and spend wealth. Environment= the natural world around us.
People who aren’t able to meet their own survival needs (food, clothing,shelter) will do whatever it takes to meet them. This includes destroyingtheir own environment or someone else’s. So, it’s essential to have aneconomy that gives access to all biological (stuff we gotta have to live)needs without destroying the environment. People who don’t have a healthyenvironment to live in won’t be well enough to support a healthy economy.People who don’t have a healthy economy won’t be well-off enough to sup-port a healthy environment. They both must work together cooperatively.
The EffectTwo paper clips (one representsthe economy and the other repre-sents our environment) are magi-cally linked together.
What You Need• two paper clips• one dollar bill• cardboard• scissors• green marker
Secret Set-UpCut the cardboard into two smallrectangles (two inches by threeinches). Write the word“Economy” on the first card withthe green marker. Write the word
47
ONE DOLLAR BILL 11
11
Illustration 2
2. Hold the bill open betweenboth hands. Say, “This dollarbill represents the invisiblelink between both of them.”(See illustration 2)
3. Fold one third of the bill overto the right. (See illustration3)
4. Push the “environment” paperclip over this fold. (see illustra-tion 4)
5. Turn the bill around (not over)so you can see the other side.
Economy
EnvironmentIllustration 1
Illustration 3
R BILL 1
1
“Environment” on the secondcard with the green marker. At-tach one paper clip to the top ofeach card. (See illustration 1)
Showtime1. Take the first paper clip off
the “environment” card. Say,"This paper clip represents ourenvironment." Set the card tothe left on the table.
2. Take the second paper clip offthe “economy” card. Say, "Thispaper clip represents oureconomy." Set the card to theright on the table.
48
Illustration 4
Illustration 5
Illustration 7
R BILL 1
Illustration 6
1
1
ONE DO 1
1
AR BILL
R BILL 1
1
R BILL 1
1
6. Fold the left end back over tothe right side. (See illustration5)
7. Put the “economy” paper clipon the bill from the top. (Cliponly the front two folds.) (Seeillustration 6)
8. Pull the ends of the bill.
9. The paper clips will attach toeach other like magic and flyoff the bill. (See illustration 7)
10. Pick them up and showthey're linked. Say, “It is anillusion to believe that theenvironment and the economyare not connected.” Excellent!
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Mother Nature is the ultimaterecycler! Take water for example.The water that you drink fromyour faucet is the same water thatfell as rain last month and thesame water you took a bath inlast year. Yukky but true. Thatsame water has been recycledover and over for millions andmillions of years. The same wateris continually being cleaned up,recycled, and reused by mothernature.
The EffectA cup of water is dumped into astinky work boot. The magicianplaces a cup into the boot andorders the water to recycle itselfback into the cup. Reaching intothe boot, he removes the cup. Thewater has jumped back into thecup. Magically, the boot is dry andthe cup is full of water.
What You Need• one old, ratty, ugly, work boot
(try to find one at a local thriftstore... the bigger the better)
• two small paper cups with a rimat the top
• scissors• a large glass of water• your own personal magic wand
What You Need To Make1. Cut out the bottom of cup #1.2. Cut off the top rim of the cup
#2. (See illustration 1)
Secret Set-Up1. Place cup (#1) with the rim
into the cup with no rim (#2).These will nest together andlook like one cup. Everyoneshould think that it is only onecup. (See illustration 1)
Water In the BootMother nature recycles everything: the air, the land, the water. Nothingin nature is ever wasted!
Illustration 1
Cut off thebottom ofcup #1
Cut off thetop rim ofcup #2
Place cup #1inside cup #2, soit looks like onlyone cup.
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Illustration2
2. Put the glass of water andnested cups on the table.
Showtime1. Show the nasty, beat-up, work
boot. Pretend that it smellsbad. (Everyone will laugh atthis.)
2. Lift the nested cups show andput them into the boot. Say, "acup".
3. Tell the audience that mothernature recycles water so wecan use it again. Even dirty,stinky water is recycled.
4. With your right hand, take thebottomless cup out of the bootleaving the cup with no rim.(Separate the cups using yourthumb and first finger.) Thecup left in the boot is hiddenfrom the audience. (See illus-tration 2)
5. Set the bottomless cup on thetable. Don’t let people see thatthere is no bottom to this cup.
6. Pour water into the cup withno rim. It will look like you arepouring water right into thetennis boot.
7. Say “This dirty, stinky, wateris now being recycled intoclean water by mother nature."Pick up the bottomless cup andslide it back into the cup thathas water in it. (See illustra-tion 4)
Take out cup #1,leaving cup #2 in boot
8. Order the water to get backinto the cup. Say, "get back inthe cup dirty stinky water".
9. Wave your magic wand overthe cup and boot.
10. Take the nested cups outtogether. Dramatically pourthe water in the cups back intothe big glass of water.
Illustration3
Pour water intocup #2 in boot.
Illustration4
Slide cup #1 back intocup #2, and take out bothcups together.
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� Respect yourself.
� Respect others.
� Respect the environment.
When you start doing thesethings, it’s as if you have createdyour own personal magic wand.You can have a very positiveimpact on the world. We needyour help. So get out there and dosomething to make the world abetter place to live!
The EffectA small coin purse is shown to theaudience. Three pennies aretaken out of the purse. The magi-cian then looks inside the purseand can’t believe what she sees.There is a large magic wand in-side. The magic wand is pulledout of the purse for the audienceto see. It is almost four timeslarger than the purse!
What You Need• small coin purse• scissors• three pennies• magic wand (approximately ten
to twelve inches long)
• two rubber bands• a long sleeve shirt or jacket• bright colored water based paint
(red, yellow, blue)• paint brush• water for clean-up
What You Need To Make1. Cut a hole in the bottom left
corner of the coin purse. Makethe hole just large enough foryour magic wand to slide into.(See illustration 1)
2. Paint your magic wand abright color.
Magic Wand from Coin PursePeople have an impact on the world around them.
Young Eco-Heroes are people that have chosen to have a positive im-pact on the world. Their goal is to “heal” the planet peacefully. Thepower to “heal” the planet is available to anyone who chooses to use it.
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Secret Set-Up1. Roll up your left sleeve.
2. Put one rubber band on yourleft arm near your wrist.
3. Put another rubber band onyour left arm near your elbow.
4. Now, slide the wand under therubber bands. (See illustration2)
5. Roll your sleeve down.
6. Put the four coins in yourpurse.
7. Set the purse on your table.(Don’t let the coins fall out ofthe secret hole.)
Showtime1. Pick up the change purse with
your right hand.
2. Put the purse into your lefthand and secretly slide thewand into the hole in thepurse. (See illustration 3)
3. With your right hand, openthe top of the purse and takethe four pennies out. Set themon the table.
4. Look into the purse. Looksurprised and then look again.
5. Pull the giant magic wand outof the purse. Tap it on yourtable. This shows that thewand is solid. (See illustration4)
Illustration 1
Illustration 2
Open seam inside of coinpurse, just largeenough forwand to gothrough.
Secure wandto your armwith rubberbands. Wandshould be halfway into yourpalm.
Illustration 4
Illustration 3
Slide the wandinto the pursethrough the holein the seam.
Open purse andpull wand outand up to showall!
6. Smile graciously and do a littledance because you’re so cool!
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Greenhouse PenetrationGases in our atmosphere trap reflected heat at the earth’s surface. It’scalled the “greenhouse effect.” This is not only a good thing. It isabsolutely necessary. If these gases didn’t trap heat, we would allfreeze to death.
The EffectA borrowed coin representing energyfrom the sun penetrates a solid
paper bag that is tied shut.
What You Need• table• paper bag or sack (lunch bag
size)• borrowed coin• cardboard toilet paper roll tube• rubber bands• large cardboard prop box• yellow or orange crayon• string (about eight inches long)• table• small cloth bag (approximately
three inches by four inches)
Secret Set-Up1. Punch a small hole into the
toilet paper tube at thetop.(See illustration 1)
2. Thread your string throughthis hole. (See illustration 1)
3. Punch two holes in the largecardboard prop box near thetop. (See illustration 2)
4. Slide the cardboard tube into Illustration 2
Illustration 1
Small holes
the neck of the small bag.(See illustration 3)
5. Wrap two rubber bandsaround it.
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Illustration 3
Illustration 4
6. Now put the tube and smallbag into the paper bag andwrap two rubber bands aroundit. (See illustration 4)
7. Tie the loop of string throughthe holes of your large card-board prop box. The bagshould hang freely. (See illus-tration 4)
7. Leave this in your large card-board prop box.
8. Put the cardboard box to yourleft on the table.
Showtime1. Borrow a coin from someone
in your audience.
2. Have them draw a small sunon both sides of the coin withthe crayon. (This will repre-sent the sun's energy.)
3. Hold the coin in your righthand. (See illustration 5) Putit in your left hand and say,“This coin represents the sun'senergy.”
3. Put the coin back in yourright hand. Say, “The sun'senergy is trapped by thegreenhouse effect. Watch.”
4. While you’re saying this,pretend to put the coin intoyour left hand. Secretly keep itin your right. (See illustration5 and 6)
Rubber Band
Small Bag
Small BagPaper bag
Tube
5. Hold your left hand up high inthe air.
4. Reach into the box with yourright hand.
5. Secretly drop the coin into thetube.
6. Quickly, pull the bag down andfree from the tube. The rubberbands will tighten around theneck of the bags with the coininside.(See illustration 7)
7. Bring the bag into view with
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your right hand. Hold it uphigh. Say, “The suns rays aretrapped by the earth's atmo-sphere. The atmosphere is likethis bag. The marked coin islike the energy from the sun.Watch.”
8. Take your left hand (whichsupposedly has the coin in it)and hit the side of the baggently. (See illustration 8)
9. Show your empty left hand.
10. Shake the bag. Everyone willhear the coin rattling inside.
11. Have someone in your audi-ence open the bag to see thatthe coin is now trapped inside.
Illustration 6Illustration 5
Pull bagdown andoff tube
Drop quarterinto tube
Illustration 7
Illustration 8
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Green MilkEveryone is downstream or downwind from someone else. In nature
there is no such thing as “away.”
People all over the world share the same land, the same oceans, and thesame air. You may not know it, but someone that lives clear acrosstown can pollute your drinking water. Say what? Yeah, they can. Let’ssay you’ve got a boneheaded person who decides to dump his usedmotor oil onto the ground. What happens to that oil? First, it will tosoak into the ground. Eventually it will seep through the ground allthe way down to YOUR ground water. (Millions of people get theirdrinking water from wells drilled into underground rocks that are fedby the water table.) If your personal drinking water comes from a wellor an aquifer, guess what? You could have this problem, too.
Pollution is the right resource in the wrong placeat the wrong time in the wrong amount.
• table• thin piece of cardboard (one
inch taller than the glass you’reusing)
• tape• glue (rubber cement is actually
better)• towel in case you spill anything• cardboard prop box
What You Need To Make1. Glue a special Vanishing
Newspaper together just likethe illustration. Use a thinlayer of glue, so it won’twrinkle the paper. (See illus-tration 1).
The Effect Toxic green dots vanish from ahandkerchief and change a glassof milk to an ugly toxic greencolor.
What You Need• green food coloring (Be careful.
This stuff will stain your clothesand you’ll need “real” magic toget it out.)
• two clear drinking glasses• carton or jug of milk• large sheet of newspaper• two white cloth handkerchiefs
or bandannas• green magic marker• spoon
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2. Roll the special VanishingNewspaper into a cone.
3. Put the handkerchief (with nodots on it) into the main com-partment of the special Vanish-ing Newspaper cone.
Illustration 1
6.
This is what the vanishingnewspaper should look like.
SECRET POCKET
Put a small line of glue ontop sheet #1 like it shows inthe drawing above. Then,glue the cut out section fromthe bottom sheet #2 onto thetop sheet like it shows below.
Top sheet - with glue
#1G L U E
G L U E
5.
Bottom sheet #2 - keep justthe cut out section X.
Unfold both papers and cutout section X of paper # 2 - put the rest of the paperaway, keeping just this littlecut-out and the top sheet #1that is still whole.
Top sheet, #1 - keep.
#1
#2
X
1.
Get two pages of a newspaperthat are just alike. Place themone on top of the other facingthe same way with the longedges close to you.
3.
Make the second foldlike this.
Make the third foldand it should looksort of like this.
4.2.
Fold BOTH papers like thisfor the first fold.
2. Make the green toxic dothandkerchief. Draw lots ofdifferent sized circles andweird shapes on the handker-chief and fill them in with thegreen marker. Make it lookreal scummy. Draw on bothsides.
3. Roll the thin cardboard tomake a tube and tape it. Itshould fit easily over the clearglass of milk. (See illustration2)
Secret Set-Up1. Put three drops of green food
coloring into the bottom of theclear glass. Don’t get any onthe sides of the glass. We don’twant to tip the audience thatwe’re using food coloring.
Illustration 2
MILK
vanishingnewspaper withclean hanky in
maincompartment
green dye
cardboard tube
moo juice
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5. Pour the milk from the plasticjug into the glass (with thefood color). The audiencewon’t see the food coloring andmilk combining because it’scovered by the cardboard tube.Don't spill!
6. Put the spoon into the papercone and pretend to stir thehandkerchief up.
7. Now, put the spoon into thecardboard tube and actuallystir the milk. The milk willturn green. Say, “When youdump toxic stuff on theground, it won’t just staythere.”
8. Now we’re ready for the magic!Reach into the main compart-ment of the cone and pull outthe blank handkerchief. Thegreen color is gone.
Illustration 3
Put clean hanky in maincompartment
4. Set the glass with the foodcoloring on the table to yourleft.
5. Set the secret VanishingNewspaper cone (with theblank handkerchief in it) up-right in the glass to yourright. (See illustration 3)
6. Set the green toxic dot hand-kerchief on the table betweenthe glasses.
7. Set the cardboard prop boxdown below the table.
8. Now you’re ready to go.
Showtime1. Show the green toxic dot
handkerchief to the audience.Say, “Toxic stuff.”
2. Pick up the Vanishing News-paper cone with your righthand. Put the toxic dot hand-kerchief into the secret com-partment of the VanishingNewspaper cone with your lefthand.
3. Place the vanishing newspapercone into the tall glass on yourright.
4. Cover the glass on the left sideof the table with the cardboardtube.
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Illustration 4
9. Unroll the cone and show thatit’s empty. (See illustration 4)The secret compartment won’tshow. Set the cone into yourcardboard prop box below thetable.
10. Slowly lift the cardboard tubefrom the milk and show thatthe milk is now green.
11. Say, “If we don’t watch whatwe pour onto the ground, wemay end up drinking it."
12. Bow to thunderous applause.
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Sun FunThe sun is a MASSIVE supplier ofenergy. Every single minute itsupplies the earth with moreenergy than humans use (in theform of fossil fuels) in a full year.Imagine that ... a year's worth ofenergy is supplied to the earth inone minute!Energy from fossil fuels is limited.Energy from the sun is not!Solar energy can be collected andused by humans from a variety ofsources: photovoltaic cells, hydro-power, wind power, wave power,geothermal, and bio-mass. We arelimited only by our imagination.
The EffectA small rope representing theenergy we now harvest directlyfrom the sun (and moon) growslonger as we learn to collect,store, and use the sun's energymore creatively.
What You Need• jacket• rope (about 10 feet long)• a bit of acting
Secret Set-Up1. Put your jacket on.
2. Grab the rope in the center withyour left hand.
3. Stuff the center into your rightsleeve. (See illustration 1)
4. Keep stuffing until only a fewinches are left poking out.
5. Hold the two ends in your righthand as if they are one shortpiece of rope. (See illustration 1)
Showtime1. Show the rope and say, “Sun-
light can be converted to elec-tricity by solar power, hydro-power, wind power, and wavepower.”
2. Grab end A with your left hand.
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6. When you have stretched it outabout two feet, stop. Let go ofthe rope with your left hand.
7. Grab the rope with your lefthand near your right handagain.
8. Lift both hands to shoulderheight again.
9. Repeat step 5.
10. Continue to repeat the stretch-ing motion until you reach theend of the rope.
Illustration 1
Pull rope through yourhand here
Hold this end of ropewith your little finger
End A
Illustration 2
Don't move thishand
Turn your whole body to yourleft.
3. Lift your right and left hands upto shoulder height.
4. Say, “We can stretch the energyavailable to us by using currentsolar income.”
5. Move your right hand towardsyour body, letting the rope slideout of your sleeve through yourhand. It will look as if the ropeis stretching. Do not move yourleft hand at all! (See illustration2)
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Water Planet CardsWe live on a blue planet. It’s blue because it’s covered with water (wa-
ter, water, water). Lot’s of water! Water or H2O isan essential ingredient of life. No water, no
life. So far, the only planet we’ve foundthat has liquid water is the earth. Goodthing we live here!
What You Need To Make1. You’ll need to make nine
poster board cards. Cut theseinto 2 inch x 3 inch rect-angles.
2. Now write the name of oneplanet on each card with themagic marker. Earth, Mars,Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Mer-cury, Venus, Neptune, Pluto.Leave the backside of the cardsblank. (See illustration 1)
The EffectYou have some cards that repre-sent all of the planets in our solarsystem. You shuffle them. Youdrop them into a paper bag. Thenyou say, “Which planet in oursolar system has water and cansupport life?” You thump thebottom of a paper bag, and theearth card comes flying out.“That’s right... only the earth.”
What You Need• paper bag• magic marker• piece of white poster board• scissors
Illustration 1
Earth Mars Jupiter
Saturn Uranus Mercury
Venus Neptune Pluto
3. Take the paper bag and rolldown the sides so the bag isapproximately 7 inches tallfrom top to bottom. (See illus-tration 2)
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Illustration 2
Illustration 3
Illustration 4 Illustration 5
Secret Set-UpStack the cards. Make sure theearth card is on the top of thestack. That’s it.
Showtime1. Show all of the cards face up.
2. Put them on the table facedown and mix them aroundwith your hands. Keep youreye on the top card. Don’t loseit. (See illustration 3)
3. Say to your audience, “I’mgoing to mix these guys up.”
4. Now stack the cards into apile. The earth card shouldstill be on top of the stack.Don’t look at the faces of thecards.
5. Hold the bottom of the paperbag with palm of your lefthand. (See illustration 4)
6. Put all the cards into the paperbag. While putting them in,slide the top card off with yourthumb and first finger. (Seeillustration 5)
7. Set all of the cards except thetop card (the earth card) onthe bottom of the bag. Leanthe earth card against theinside of the paper bag. (Seeillustration 6)
8. Pull your hand out of the bag.
Folddown
Seveninches
Earth Card
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Illustration 6
Illustration 7
Make Earth card lean against sideof bag
Thump here
Earth
9. Ask your audience, “Whichplanet is the only one in theknown universe that supportslife and has water?"
10. Thump the bottom of the bagright below the earth card. Itwill come flying out of thepaper bag as if by magic. (Seeillustration #7)
11. Pick it up and show everyonethat the earth card has comeleaping out. Say, “That’s right.The only planet that can sup-port life as we know it and haswater is... The Earth.”
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As far as we know, all the living things in our solar system are carbonbased. That means they are made of the elements carbon, hydrogen,oxygen, nitrogen, and a few others. Each element has a symbol thatrepresents it.
C=carbon.H=hydrogen,O2=oxygen,N=nitrogen.
Here’s a great trick that illus-trates what living things aremade of.
The EffectPieces of tissue paper combine tobecome a little tissue paper per-son.
What You Need• piece of light colored (yellow,
white, or pink) tissue paper• two identical paper cups• two pieces of green construc-
tion paper• black magic marker• pencil• scissors• glue• table• chair
What You Need To Make1. Tear the top of cup #1 off
about three quarters of theway up. (See illustration 1)
2. Tear the top of cup #2 off atexactly the same place. Thesetwo torn cups should lookexactly alike.
Carbon Creatures
Illustration 1
Make two ofthese cups
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Illustration 2
3. Place the rimmed edge of cup#1 on the first piece of con-struction paper. (See illustra-tion 2)
4. With a pencil trace the rim ofthe cup.
5. Cut the construction papercircle out with your scissors.(See illustration 2)
6. Glue the paper circle to therim of cup #1. (See illustration3)
7. Cut a figure of a person out ofthe tissue paper. (See illustra-tion #4) Make sure it is smallenough to fit beneath themouth of the cup.
8. Cut another piece of tissuepaper into five small pieces.(About 1/2 inch by1/2 inch)
9. Write the letter “C”...for car-bon. “H”...for hydrogen.“O2”...for oxygen. “N”...fornitrogen on each piece of pa-per. (See illustration 4)
Secret Set-Up1. Set the sheet of construction
paper on the table.
2. Set the tissue paper “person”in the middle of the construc-tion paper.
3. Set cup #2 (rim side down) ontop of the tissue paper person
Put gluearound rim ofcup
#2#1
#1
Cup #2 goes into yourlap
Illustration 3
Illustration 4
H N
OC2
in the middle of the construc-tion paper.
4. Secretly put cup #1 in yourlap.
5. Now you’re ready to go.
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#1
H N
OC2
Illustration 5
Showtime1. Ask someone from the audi-
ence to look into the top of thecup. Say, “What do you see?”They’ll see nothing but theconstruction paper through thecup.
2. Have the person drop the smallpieces of tissue paper into thetop of the cup. (See illustration5)
3. Now cover the top of the cupwith your right hand. Blowmagically on the cup. Say,“People are made of carbon,hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen,and a few other elements.”
4. Lift the cup off the construc-tion paper and immediatelydrop it into your lap. Thisexposes the tissue paper per-son. It will look to your audi-ence as if the pieces of tissuepaper have been transformedinto a tissue paper person.
5. Lift the second cup back uponto the table and show that itis empty.
6. Pick up the tissue paper per-son and make it dance aroundon the table.
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Renewable ResourcesA tree is a renewable resource. A river is a renewable resource. Cleanair is a renewable resource. Food is even a renewable resource. Bread,because it is made of wheat and canbe grown,harvested, and then grown again, isa renewable resource. Any resourcethat can be used, yet doesn’t reducethe availability for future genera-tions, is a renewable resource. Remem-ber... Renewable resources must be used no faster than they can re-placed. That’s what keeps them renewable.
Air = Renewable Resource
Water = Renewable Resource
Food = Renewable Resource
The Effect Three rolled up balls of bread areshown to the audience. Two breadballs are placed into a tea cup.The third ball is eaten. Magicallya third ball appears in the cup toreplace the discarded one.
What You Need• coffee cup (a clean one)• slice of fresh bread• table
Secret Set-Up1. Take a piece of bread and tear
four small pieces off.
2. Roll each one of these piecesinto four small balls. (Seeillustration 1)
Bread Four 1/4" to 1/8"round bread balls
Illustration 1
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3. That’s it. The real secret is thatwe’re using four balls insteadof three. The extra ball is al-ways kept a secret.
4. Right before the show hide oneof the bread balls between yourright thumb, first finger andsecond finger. (See illustration2) This is the secret fourthball. No one should know itexists.
5. Put the other three balls in thecup, and you’re ready to go.
Showtime1. Pour the three balls out of your
cup onto the table with yourright hand. Say, “Renewableresources can be used, but theymust not be used any fasterthan they can be replaced.” Setthe cup down.
2. Pick up one of the balls fromthe table with your right firstfinger and thumb. Show thisbread ball and drop it backinto the coffee cup. Say, “One.”
3. Pick up the second bread balland drop it and the hidden ballinto the coffee cup. Say,“Two.” (See illustration 3)
4. Pick up the third bread balland put it into your mouth andeat it. Go ahead and swallowit. It’s only bread. Say,“Bread is a renewable resource
Illustration 2
Illustration 3
because we can use it and thengrow more.”
5. Pour out the three balls thatare now in the cup. “Because itis a renewable resource, we caneat it, and still have more inthe future.”
6. Count the three balls on thetable.
7. Congratulations! You’re fabu-lous! Absolutely fabulous,darling!
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Dinosaur WaterWater is continuously cycling around and around and around.
The water that exists now is the same water that has always existed.
The EffectThree volunteers from the audi-ence sit around a card table. Ablue ball (representing water)magically moves across the table.
What You Need• secret assistant• empty tea cup• orange• toy dinosaur• blue ball (about the size of a
racquet ball)• roll of toilet paper• glass of water• spool of strong dark thread• card table• three chairs• tablecloth• two rings (each ring should be
1& 1/2 inches across)
Mother Nature simply cleans it upand uses it again. It is recycledover and over again. The samewater that a dinosaur's body wasmade of millions of years ago, isthe same water that may make upyour cup of tea tomorrow. Thesame water that you flushed downthe toilet last month is the samewater that makes up an orangethat you may eat today.
Secret Set-Up1. Tie the ring to one end of the
thread. This is a gimmick noone ever sees.
2. Set this ring in the middle ofyour card table. This is yourstarting position. (See illus-tration 1)
3. Run the thread across thetable top away from yoursecret assistant's chair.
Thread
Starting Position - top view
Card tableRing #1Assistant
Illustration 1
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4. Run the thread under the tableuntil it can sit on your secretassistant's chair. Cut it off here.(See illustration 2)
5. Tie the second ring to the endof the thread and set it on yoursecret assistant's chair.
6. Put the tablecloth on the table.(It goes over the thread andring gimmick.)
7. Have your secret assistantpractice pulling the threadbeneath the table without beingdetected. This will move thering across the table away fromhim. (See illustration 3)
8. Set the ring back in startingposition.
9. Set the props out on the table.(See illustration 4)
10. Now you’re ready to go.
Showtime
1. Ask for three volunteers fromthe audience.
2. Select your secret assistant andtwo other people.
3. Have them sit down at thetablecloth covered table. Makesure your secret assistant sitsin the correct chair.
4. Your secret assistant secretlygrabs the ring/thread gimmickand holds on to it beneath thetable.
Illustration 2
Thread
Assistant'schair
Ring #1Ring #2
Starting Position - side view
Illustration 3
Pull towardsassistant
Assistant
Ring #1 moves away
Illustration 4
Assistantholding ring#2
Volunteer
Top view
Blue ball on top of ring#1 (ring #1 is undertable cloth)
Blue ball movesthis way
Magician
72
Illustration 5
14. Say, “Or it can be a part ofyour body.” Lay the handker-chief down on the table in thepath of the blue ball. Haveyour secret assistant pull thestring and roll it onto thehanky. The blue ball will rolleasily up onto the hanky. (Seeillustration 6)
15. Lift the four corners of thehanky and pull the blue ballfree from the table.
16. Say, “Water is magicallyrecycled over and over again.”
17. Take a bow.
18. Thank your volunteers.
5. Ask your volunteers to put theirhands in their laps. Your secretassistant does this too.
6. Pick up and show the dinosaurprop, the tea cup prop, thetoilet paper prop, and the or-ange prop. Set them all backdown on the table in a row. (Seeillustration 4)
7. Say, “Water molecules are re-cycled over and over again.”
8. Show the blue ball. Set it on thering gimmick.
9. Say, “Molecules of water con-tinuously cycle through manylife times. They can be a part ofa dinosaur."
10. Wave your hand over the blueball. Your secret helper pullsthe string towards him until theballoon reaches the tea cup. (Seeillustration 5)
11. Say, “It can be part of yournext cup of tea.” Wave yourhand over the tea cup. Yoursecret assistant pulls the stringtowards him and stops the blueball at the toilet paper.
12. Say, “It can be a part of thewater you flush down the toilet.”Wave your hand over the teacup. Your secret assistant stopsthe blue ball at the orange.
13. Say, “It can be part of the or-ange you eat next week.” Haveyour secret assistant stop theblue ball at the orange.
Assistantpulling ring#2
VolunteerTop view
Magician
Illustration 6
Assistantpulling ring#2
VolunteerTop view
Handkerchief
Magician
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Oil in Water TrickScience is fascinating. We use it to understand how the environmentworks. We can also use it to clean up messes we’ve made inthe environment. Take an oil spill for example. When oilis spilled in water it’s really difficult to clean up becauseit spreads out across the top of the water very rapidly.It’s dangerous because it can kill the plants and ani-mals it touches. Once the mess has been made (it’sbetter to not make the mess in the first place, ofcourse) science can help in the clean-up. Micro-scopic (very very tiny) bugs that eat oil are used tohelp with the clean-up. The bugs are brought into eat the oil. A little fertilizer is added to makethe oil even more appetizing. The bugs chowdown. The oil goes through the bugs' bodies and breaks down intoharmless nutrients. This clean-up process is called bio-remediation.Here’s a trick that uses nature to clean up spilled pepper.
The Effect Black pepper floating on the
surface of a glass of water isordered to move, and it does.
What You Need• shaker of black pepper• glass of water• liquid dish washing soap• your finger
Secret Set-Up
1. Fill the glass with water.
2. Secretly cover your left firstfinger with dish washing soap.(Any kind will do - it won'tshow. Hee, hee, hee! You’re sosneaky.) (See illustration 1)
Illustration 1
3. Now you're ready to go.
Showtime
1. Show the glass of water toeveryone.
2. Say, “This is magic pepper. Itdoes exactly what I tell it.”
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Illustration 2
Illustration 4
Illustration 3
Sprinkle some pepper into thewater. (It will float on top.)(See illustration 2)
3. Ask someone to very gentlydip her first finger into theglass and keep it there. Say,“Pepper, don't move.” (Seeillustration 3)
4. Tell your voluteer to pull herfinger out. Nothing happens.
5. Now say, “Watch carefully.When I say 'move,' the pepperwill race to the sides of theglass.”
6. Say, “Move,” and dip your leftfirst finger into the water andthe pepper will race to thesides. (See illustration 4)
7. Congratulations! You're magic!
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GlossaryAtmosphere - The layer of gases that surround the Earth. Our planet’s atmo-sphere contains many gases including nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, andozone. This combination of gases is essential for life on Earth.
Aquifer - Any rock or sediment that is permeable enough to store and movewater to wells and springs.
Biodiversity - The wide variety of different species found in a designatedarea.
Biosphere - The part of our planet that supports life. Bio means life.Sphere is a ball-like shaped object like our planet. All creatures that live onplanet Earth live within the Biosphere. It stretches from the deepest oceansto the tallest mountains.
Carbon dioxide (CO2) - A gas made of one carbon atom and two oxygenatoms. Trees and plants breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen.Without plants to produce it , there would be no oxygen in our planet’s atmo-sphere.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s) - Chlorine-based compounds used commonly asaerosol propellants, as coolants in refrigerators and air conditioning, in fireextinguishers, in solvents, and in the production of insulating foam packag-ing. CFC’s contribute to the destruction of the protective ozone layer in thestratosphere.
Clearcutting - Cutting all the trees in an area. Clearcutting can cause severesoil erosion, habitat loss, and water pollution.
Compost - Organic matter such as leaves, limbs, kitchen scraps (but no meat)and yard waste that has naturally biodegraded into a soil-like product rich inslow-release nutrients. It’s excellent food for gardens.
Conservation - To save something. Any activity that is designed to save oruse a resource wisely; may refer to land conservation, energy conservation,water conservation, or wildlife protection.
Consumers - Organisms that feed on producers, other consumers, and wastesof consumers.
Deforestation - Large scale removal of trees. This can occur through firescaused by lightning, fires caused by human carelessness, bysevere floods, orby clear-cutting.
Deinking - A process in which some portion of the ink, filler, coating, andother extraneous (noncellulose) material is removed from printed and/orunprinted paper.
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Disposables - Consumer products, items, and packaging used once or a fewtimes and discarded.
Diversity - Different or not the same. There is a huge diversity of livingthings on the Earth. Scientists know of at least 2 million species and arediscovering more everyday. Diversity insures a healthy, balanced, and strongecosystem.
Ecosystem - A community of organisms that interact with each other and thephysical environment.
Erosion - The process by which soil or other particles are carried away bywater or wind.
Environment - Where a plant or animal lives and all the things that affect itthere.
Environmentally friendly products - Products that do not have a negativeimpact on the environment. To be truly environmentally friendly these thingsmust be considered: how is the product produced, how is it packaged, how isit used, how will it be disposed of.
Extinction - When all individuals of a species die. Recent extinctions includethe passenger pigeon, dodo bird and prairie wolf.
Food chain - The relationship of plants and animals to each other throughtheir shared need for energy and nutrients in an ecosystem. The simplest lifeforms, such as plankton and grass, are at the bottom of the food chain. Theyare in turn eaten by larger and more complex organisms. These organismsare in turn eaten by even larger and more complex organisms. People are atthe top of the food chain.
Food web - The combination of all the food chains and other feeding relation-ships in an ecosystem.
Forest - Forests are complex systems of interrelated living and non-livingthings (trees, animals, soil, wind, insects, water, plants). Forests are home toplants, animals, and insects. They are the transformers of carbon dioxide(CO2) into fresh air for us to breath, and they are the providers of wood andpaper products for us to use. Tree farms are not forests. They consist of treesthat are generally the same age and species, and they are clear-cut at the sametime.
Green - The word and the color green have become a symbol for ecology andcaring for the environment.
Greenhouse effect - When heat from the sun is released by the Earth and istrapped in the atmosphere by a blanket of gases. These gases keep the Earthfrom losing most of its heat. The greenhouse effect is a naturally occurringevent. Some scientists believe that the effect is gradually being increased byman-made gases added to the atmosphere.
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Groundwater - Water beneath the Earth’s surface. Much of our drinkingwater comes from groundwater. Groundwater is within an aquifer.
Habitat - The place a given organism usually lives. The habitat is the homeof a plant or animal. It’s where the plant or animal can find food, water,shelter, and raise its young.
Hazardous waste - Waste material in a form and quantity which may pose ahazard to human health or the environment and, therefore, has been classifiedand regulated as a hazardous waste by an applicable regulatory agency.
Incineration - The process of burning garbage to reduce its volume. Toxicingredients in incinerated materials remain in the form of toxic ash.
Indigenous - Plants, animals, or people that are native to a specific area.
Landfill - A place where waste material (garbage, refuse, or rubbish) is dis-posed of by being buried in the ground.
Leaching - The process of any material seeping, dissolving, and travelingthrough soil. The material is carried through the soil generally by rainwater.Man-made examples of leaching might include oil dumped on the ground, pesti-cides, or metals from mining. Natural examples of leaching could include rainreacting with organic material to acidify the water and create vast caves likeCarlsbad Caverns, NM, or Mammoth Cave, KY.
Love - To actively care for, respect, and treat with value.
Nature - Everything on our planet is a part of nature. Nature provides every-thing we need to live. To insure that it will continue to provide for us, wemust work with it, respect it, protect it, and love it.
Nutrients - The materials needed by an organism for energy, growth, mainte-nance, or tissue repair.
Organic matter - Anything that was once alive.
Organism - An individual, living creature.
Oxygen - The gas which makes up 21% of our atmosphere; it’s createdthrough the photosynthesis of plants.
Pesticide - A chemical designed to kill organisms considered to be undesir-able.
Photosynthesis - When a plant uses sunlight, water and CO2 to create its ownfood. Oxygen is released in the process.
Pollution - Any change of air, water, or land that can harm humans or otherliving organisms.Post Consumer Waste - Recycled material that continues to operate in aclosed recycling loop.
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Precycling - The process of selecting products that are more easily recycled.(For example, you might buy white paper instead of colored paper or corru-gated cardboard instead of plastic packaging.)
Recyclable - A product or material that can be reused or recycled.
Recycled - A product or material that is made of recycled material.
Reforestation - The replanting of trees in a cleared area.
Solar Energy - Solar means sun. Solar energy is the energy that comes to usfrom the sun. Almost all of the energy on earth comes either directly orindirectly from the sun. This includes fossil fuel (gas & oil) because theenergy is merely stored in the fuel. It originally came from the sun.
Species - Organisms that can mate and produce offspring that are able toreproduce.
Spirit - The essential part of you that is not your body. It is your true self.
Steve Trash - Really cool Eco-Hero guy.
Sustainable - Operating within the limits of nature so that continued opera-tion can occur without harm or depletion.
Tropical rain forest - A geographic area with a tight canopy of predomi-nantly broad-leaf evergreen trees receiving at least 100cm of rain each year.Tropical rain forests contain very high species diversity.
Water cycle - The natural movement of water through the biosphere from theatmosphere to Earth and back again.
Young Eco-Hero - Someone who wants to peacefully “heal” the planet byrespecting themselves, respecting other people, and respecting the environ-ment. Maybe you’re one?
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Well, I hope you enjoyed reading
The Magic of Ecology
If you want to make the world a better place, it starts with you.
Respect yourself. Respect others. Respect the environment.
Peace and Recyclage,
Steve Trash
You can visit me online at www.stevetrash.com
THE END