Hey kids! Nothing says “science is
cool” like blowing stuff up, right? At the Rochester Museum and Science
Center’s Outdoor Science Extravaganza you can see the experiments they dare not
show you inside.

On Saturday, October 30, from noon
until 2 p.m., six local scientists will be wowing the audience with such
crowd-pleasers as an imploding 50-gallon drum, a thermite reaction, and
everyone’s seasonal favorite, the dry ice jack-o-lantern. (I’d like to see a
smirking tweenager try to lob that baby into the road.)

The imploding drum experiment teaches
us that air pressure is our friend. First, water is boiled in the drum. Steam
rises and forces the air out. Next, the drum is capped and cooled down quickly.
A couple minutes later, the drum implodes in one-fifteenth of a second. Wow!
That’s even faster than a sugared up preschooler implodes on Halloween.

The thermite reaction sounds
especially intriguing. One minute a scientist drops acid on some sugar. The
next minute sparks fly out, a flowerpot cracks open, and a waterfall of liquid
iron spills to the ground. That’s an even more intense visual than Timothy
Leary got when he did a similar experiment in the ’60s.

You’ll see other spectacular
experiments at this free event. It’s the kickoff for the annual Northeastern
Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, being held in Rochester this
year. I hear it’s pocket protector optional. For more information on the
Outdoor Science Extravaganza, go to www.rmsc.org

— Linda Kostin
(www.junkstorecowgirl.com)

This
week for families:

Barnes
and Noble Fri, Oct 29. Special Pajama Storytime, 330 Greege Ridge Center
Drive, 7 p.m. 227-4020

Brighton
Memorial Library 2300 Elmwood Ave. Drop-in storytimes: tot time, Mondays
10:30 a.m.; pre-K, Mondays 11:30 a.m.; PJ stories, Tuesdays 7 p.m., all ages;
families, Thursdays 7 p.m., all ages; toddlers, Fridays 10 a.m. | Fall
Festival, Sat, Oct 30, karaoke, book characters, crafts, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Free. |
784-5300, TDD 784-5302.

Central
Library 115 South Ave. Fantastic, funny, favorite stories, Fridays through
Nov 19, ages 3-5, 10 a.m. 428-8150

Child
Development Study For mothers and infants, Mothers and Infants Growing
Healthy Together program, Mt. Hope Family Center. 275-2991

Cool
Kids Dia De Los MuertosCelebration Sun,
Oct 31. Mexican arts, Brockport Farm Market, Market St, Brockport, 11 a.m.-1
p.m.; Bilingual mass, Nativity of the BVM Church, 152 Main St, 1 p.m.; dinner
and dance, BVM School, Holley and Utica Sts, 3-6 p.m. $5/family. 637-0126,
343-9313

Harvest
Night Fair Sun, Oct 31. Activities, entertainment, candy. Grades pre-K-5,
Brockport Middle School, 40 Allen Street, Brockport, 6-8:30 p.m. Free. 637-3979

Henrietta
Public Library 445 Calkins Rd. Tues, Wed, Nov 2, toddler storytime, age 2
with caregiver, 10:15-10:45 a.m. Registration required. | Wed, Oct 27, 11-11:30
a.m., Tues Oct 28, 10:15-10:45 p.m., preschool storytime, ages 3 and 4.
Registration required. 359-7092, www.hpl.org

Rochester Museum and
Science Center 657 East Ave. Sat, Oct 30, Outdoor Science Extravaganza! 12 and 2 p.m. | Sun, Oct 31, Harry Potter Magic at RMSC: The Science of
Wizards, 12-4 p.m. | Surprise! It’s
Science, through May 2005 | Rochester’s
Frederick Douglass, through January 2006 | Live Science! demos and theater, Wed-Fri 3:30 p.m.; Sat 2, 3, 4
p.m.; Sun 1:30, 2:30, 3:30 p.m. Sat 3 p.m. show sign-interpreted | Ongoing
exhibits include: AdventureZone, Carlson Inquiry Room, At the Western Door | Hours: Mon-Sat 9
a.m.-5 p.m., Sun 12-5 p.m. Tix: $5-$7. 271-1880, www.rmsc.org

Schweinfurth
Memorial Art Center Sun, Oct 31. Native American storyteller Jim Bruchac
tells monster tales, 205 Genesee St, Auburn, 2 p.m. 315-255-1553,
www.cayuganet.org/smac

Seneca
Park Zoo 2222 St Paul St. Book and Beast, Wed, Oct 27, 11 a.m. Free with
admission. 336-7213 | ZooBoo, Sat-Sun, Oct 30-31, kids activities, 10 a.m.-4
p.m. | Little Ducks: Hide and Seek Zoo Discovery Class, Fri, Oct 29, age 2,
10:15-11 a.m. or 11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Tix: $18. Preregister. | Hours: daily 10
a.m.-5 p.m. Tix: $5, $4 seniors, $2 kids. 467-9453, www.senecazoo.org

Strong Museum 1
Manhattan Square. Fri-Sun, Oct 29-31. Halloween Fun: Preschool Halloween Party,
Fri, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Family Halloween Party, Sat, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sun, 12-5
p.m. | Arthur’s World, through Jan 23
| Long-term exhibits include National Toy
Hall of Fame, Can You Tell Me How To
Get To Sesame Street? and Super Kids
Market. Hours: Mon-Thurs 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Fri 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sat 10 a.m.-5
p.m., Sun 12-5 p.m. Tix: $7; $6 seniors, students; $5 children. 263-2700

Kids in trance

They are everywhere: kids playing
intensely, absorbed in music, staring into space and daydreaming. It makes a
lot of sense. Neuroscience research teaches us that imagining turns on nerve
networks, enriching the brain. Children are just booting up the newest models
of the world’s best computers. They are in the business of learning how their
minds and bodies are connected.

They naturally use the gift of
imagination for fun, fantasy, to set goals for themselves, and to cope with
fears and challenges. This is how they learn to control brain-body reflexes in
response to stress, pain, and joy. This is why early life traumas and successes
powerfully shape who we become.

This also means that young people are
hypnotically talented. With careful training, children can apply their
concentration and imagination to prevent migraine headaches, control pain
during surgical procedures, stop problem habits, and manage chronic diseases
like asthma. Research shows that children can direct immune responses, control
blood flow, change skin temperature, and regulate other so-called “involuntary”
reflexes with self-hypnosis. This is powerful stuff. Not only does it mean that
children can have more control when they are sick, but also that they can cope
better when well.

Like any other therapeutic skill,
hypnosis, and related strategies (biofeedback, relaxation training), ought to
be employed by trained, licensed healthcare professionals as part of a
comprehensive treatment plan. On the other hand, those bedtime stories we tell
to help our children sleep well are good places to start.

— Laurence I. Sugarman, MD, vice
president, American Board of Medical Hypnosis

This article appears in Oct 27 – Nov 2, 2004.