RINGTOWN - The Ringtown Area Library hosted a program on Monday called "It's Shocking," and the children who attended had an electrically charged fun time.
About 30 children and their parents attended the science program about static electricity in the Ringtown Area Senior Citizens building that was conducted by Whitaker on Wheels, the traveling component of the Whitaker Center for the Sciences and the Arts of Harrisburg. The program was sponsored in part by a Schuylkill Area Community Foundation grant.
The program was presented by WOW demonstrators Jim Rudy, Mechanicsburg, and Jim Kauffman, York, for children ages 7 to 12, though there were some younger children who also enjoyed themselves.
Rudy was the main presenter and spoke to the children and adults in front of a table with various scientific machines designed to create static electricity.
" 'It's Shocking' is one of the big science theater productions that we do," Rudy said.
The first thing Rudy did was take an inflated balloon and rub it on the wall for a short time to build up a charge of static electricity, causing it to stick to the wall.
"We'll see how long it stays there. Why is it staying on the wall?" Rudy asked, with a boy answering, "Opposite charges."
Rudy was impressed with the answer, and added that it was also test to see how long the balloon will stay in order to gauge how the other experiments will go because of the humidity in the air. He spoke for a short time about electrical charges, atoms, electrons, protons and neutrons, keeping the children's attention. About four minutes into his talk, the balloon fell from the wall, which Kauffman said the demonstrations should work out.
The first experiment involved the use of a Wimshurst influence machine, which is an electrostatic generator developed by James Wimshurst in the 19th century. Unfortunately, the humidity prevented the machine from producing the static electricity.
"I was afraid that might happen," Rudy said. "I think we're losing a lot of electrical charge into the atmosphere. It worked a while ago."
After several tries, Rudy threw in the towel and moved on to the next experiment using a Van de Graaff generator, which is also an electrostatic generator that uses a moving belt to accumulate very high amounts of electrical potential on a hollow metal globe on the top of the stand. Invented in 1929 by American physicist Robert J. Van de Graaff, the version brought for the WOW program was capable of producing up to 50,000 volts.
"Even though it's plugged it, that has nothing to do with it generating electricity," Rudy said. "There is a motor inside that turns a wheel like the size of skateboard wheel. As the wheel is turning, it goes past some metal brushes and the electrons hang out in this big spherical top."
The humidity did not prevent the generator from working, producing a spark when Rudy placed a metal rod near the top. The children were mesmerized watching the sparks and hearing the cracking of each charge of static electricity.
"At least something is working," Rudy said.
Rudy asked for a volunteer with long hair, with Shiana DeAngelo, 9, of Ringtown, coming to the front. She stood on a footstool and placed her left hand on the Van de Graaff generator. Rudy started up the machine and DeAngelo's hair began to stand away from her head.
To show how electricity can move from one person to another, Rudy asked for three children. Joey Campbell, 7, stood closest to the machine and placed his hand on it. To his right was Anna Grabowsky, 7, who held Campbell's hand, and Kevin Kanute, 8, who held Grabowsky's hand. Rudy placed styrofoam packing peanuts in Kanute's right hand, and when the machine was turned on, the current moved through all three Ringtown children and caused the packing material to jump from Kanute's hand.
Rudy then got all the children involved in two groups, forming a ring with each children holding hands with each other. With Rudy touching the generator, the children experienced a mild static electric shock, In one of the groups, library director Tanya Savitsky joined the children and felt the electrical charge go up her arm.