My son wanted a Mythbusters party for his 9th birthday, complete with crazy science projects and experiments that test urban legends. For the invitation I took white card stock and printed a
photo of the tv show's hosts adding: Warning: Birthday Content. Inside I listed myths investigated on the show along with the party info and an image of Buster the crash test dummy. Below
the R.S.V.P. info was, Your attendance is PLAUSIBLE, BUSTED, CONFIRMED. The day of the party I recruited family members to set up and help with the experiments and to decorate our driveway
and patio with yellow caution tape and red danger flags. On the front gate we hung a large M9 Industrial Birthday Effects sign I printed on the computer. I also printed sheets of copy
paper with large chemical element symbols, stapled them to twine, and strung them up as a long fluttering banner over the craft table. Borrowed pylons and a pop-up tent created a separate
staging area for our experiments. My mad scientist brother set up his homemade Robot Party invention, which used compressed air to unroll birthday party blow-outs in sequence. Lunch was a
buffet of burgers, hot dogs, and salads. Inside we showed episodes of the show. After the kids ate, they made Alka-Seltzer rockets from card stock which they decorated with stickers and pens.
An adult hot-glued the card stock to an empty film canister (cap side down) and glued on the fins. After lunch and crafts, we started the experiments. First was a test of the paper-folding
myth. Can a piece of paper only be folded 7 times? I demonstrated with a sheet of copy paper. The kids counted as I folded it seven times. Then my husband pulled out 2 giant pieces of 12x15
seamless paper (scavenged in an alley) and put them to work. Working together, the kids folded the papers 8 times each. Myth: busted! I wrote our data" in sidewalk chalk on a block wall.
Next up: does toast always land butter side down? I pulled out a bag of toast and had each kid butter 2 slices. They lined up and we loaded them in our automated toast dropper which we'd
rigged with a set of kitchen tongs a clamp a ladder and some string. The test was almost even12 landed butter up 10 down. Myth: busted! Next would Pop Rocks and soda make you explode if
consumed at the same time? We lined kids up at a table and all together they poured Pop Rocks in their mouths and drank some pre-poured lemon-lime soda. Burps? Yes! Exploding stomachs? Nope.
Myth: busted! Finally we gathered the kids (and science-loving adults) under the tent where we'd set up a working microwave purchased from a thrift store. After a safety lecture (we also
posted lots of Warning: Don't try this at home! signs) we microwaved a variety of items: steel wool aluminum foil a lit candle grapes empty potato chip bags a variety of marshmallow novelties
(the dollar store had marshmallow hotdogs hamburgers and bunnies) and finally a bar of soap. The kids screamed blow it up as things burned fizzled grew huge and melted. Finally it was cake
time. I baked one-and-a-half 9x13 chocolate cakes laid them together lengthwise and covered them in peanut butter frosting. I rolled out gray fondant then cut out the Mythbusters logo
in more fondant and dusted it with graham cracker crumbs (for the sawdust). For the party's finale my husband dropped strings of pre-drilled Mentos into bottles of diet cola soda
creating 10 foot fountains. (Instructions are on the internet.) The 'goody bag' was a pair of real safety goggles ($1 at Harbor Freight) Mentos Pop Rocks and some cool danger or Mad
Scientist stickers rolled up in a white t-shirt with a computer-printed Mythbusters logo ironed on it. In true Mythbusters fashion we recycled borrowed or found a lot of stuff and made the
rest so the cost was minimal. My son had a great time and the kids had a science-filled party they're still talking about.
