For my son's 6th birhtday we chose a mad scientist theme.  We began the festivities by sending out "test tube" invitations.  We cut card stock out in the shape of test tubes and wrote the party info on them. We wanted to send out real test tubes stuffed with paper but it was too expensive. I planned to have the party in the basement. I borrowed 4 tables from our church. 3 of the tables were "kid-sized" 4ft tables and one table was a reg. 8 ft table. I set up the table to resemble a lab.  The big table at the front and the smaller tables in rows. I had invited 12 children.  So I had 4 chairs (also borrowed from church) at each table.  I covered the tables with butcher paper to contain any mess. On the Head table I arranged all of the experiments. We had planned several experiments which included the following: the egg suck, the foam can, the queen of hearts, salt tube, sink or float, and a "pop" rocket for the grand finale.  All of these experiments and others can be found at the "Beakman's world" website. There is also a video which demonstrates each experiment. I greeted each child as he arrived.  I was wearing a white lab coat, a big clown bow tie, protective eye goggles, and I had spiked my hair.  I also had the classic pocket protector and a pocked filled with pens to complete the look. We began the party by demonstrating each experiment AND giving the scientific explanation for each.  The kids were amazed! They were each given a chance to be my "assistant". I had also set up a "lab station" for each child.  This consisted of an aluminum foil lasagna pan (cheap at the dollar store) that contained all of the materials needed for the hands-on experiment. After my demonstration, each child made their own silly putty! It is an easy mixture of glue and liquid starch with food coloring for fun.  The lab pan also had ball and long magnets with assorted metal objects to play with while waiting for others to finish making their putty. The grand finale was a rocket made from a 2-liter soda bottle.  My husband and son made this together the week before the party.  It was easy and fun.  When it came time we took the kids outside and gave the birthday boy the honors of launching the rocket.  It was great! and no one got hurt.  While they were outside I got the cake ready.  We decided to have baked alaska as it fit the science theme. The kids enjoyed it. After that it was time for gifts.  After the gifts were opened it was time for the party to end.  While they waited for their parents to arrive, we watched the Beakman's World video.  They loved to see the experiments over and over.  Each child was sent home with a favor bag which had their silly putty and magnets, a pencil, some space stickers,a balloon, some candy, and a small memo pad that served as their lab notebook. This was a terrific party! The kids had a blast and learned something too. It was easy and economical. All of the supplies and decorations cost a total of about $75.