The Science Of It: Explosive Fun From The Orlando Science Center
WE’RE HERE PAST THE HALFWAY POINT OF ASTRONOMY MONTH AT THE ORLANDO SCIENCE CENTER. AND THIS MORNING WE ARE DIVING INTO MORE EXPLOSIVE FUN. WESH TWO METEOROLOGIST MARQUISE MEDA BRINGS US THE SCIENCE OF IT. WHAT’S HAPPENING YOU GUYS? AND WELCOME BACK TO THE ORLANDO SCIENCE CENTER. I’M JOINED BY ZACH ONCE AGAIN. AND ZACH. I’LL TELL YOU EVERY TIME I GET HANDED A PAIR OF GOGGLES HERE AT THE ORLANDO SCIENCE CENTER, I START TO GET EXCITED BECAUSE THERE’S A GOOD CHANCE OF US BLOWING SOMETHING UP, RIGHT? YEAH, THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT WE’RE GONNA DO TODAY. WE’RE GOING TO BLOW UP SOME BALLOONS. NOW, THE BALLOONS DON’T HAVE YOUR TYPICAL GAS LIKE HELIUM. OR MAYBE YOUR EXHALED BREATH. TODAY WE’RE GOING TO BE FILLING UP OUR BALLOONS WITH HYDROGEN GAS. HYDROGEN GAS IS EXTREMELY FLAMMABLE. IT’S ACTUALLY THE STUFF THAT’S USED IN ROCKET SHIPS AS ROCKET FUEL IN ITS LIQUID FORM, WE HAVE GASEOUS HYDROGEN A LITTLE MORE SAFE THAN ROCKET FUEL, BUT JUST AS EXPLOSIVE. AND WE’RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND BLOW IT UP IN OUR BALLOON. THIS IS GOING TO CREATE A BIG FIREBALL. SO I AM ALSO GOING TO ASK YOU TO STEP BACK A LITTLE BIT. WE’LL GO AHEAD AND COMBINE OUR FIRE TRIANGLE OF HEAT FUEL AND OXYGEN IN THE ROOM FOR KABOOM IN THREE, TWO, ONE. HOPEFULLY YOU GUYS COVERED YOUR EARS FOR THAT BECAUSE THAT WAS A LOUD ONE. A MASSIVE BOOM RIGHT THERE. YES, BUT WE CAN ACTUALLY DO A TON MORE BECAUSE OF THAT CHEMICAL REACTION. WE CAN ACTUALLY CHANGE THE COLOR OF THE FIRE. IF YOU GO BACK THERE AND GRAB ME A GREEN BALLOON AND BRING IT OVER TO THE STAND, OUR GREEN BALLOON ISN’T JUST FULL OF HYDROGEN GAS, BUT IS ALSO CONTAINING A CHEMICAL SALT CALLED COPPER CHLORIDE. GO AHEAD AND PUT IT IN OUR COPPER CHLORIDE. WHEN BURNED, BURNS A BRIGHT GREEN COLOR. IT’S USED IN FIREWORKS TO GET THAT GREEN LIKE, ALMOST MAGICAL FEELING FIRE. AND SO WHEN YOU PUT IT IN A HYDROGEN GAS BALLOON, WE SHOULD HAVE A GREEN FIREBALL. I THOUGHT MAGICIANS NEVER REVEAL THEIR TRICKS. WELL, I AM A SCIENTIST HERE AT THE ORLANDO SCIENCE CENTER, SO WE’RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND REVEAL OUR TRICKS TODAY ONCE AGAIN WITH OUR FIRE TRIANGLE OF FUEL, HEAT AND OXYGEN LIGHTING UP OUR GREEN BALLOON IN THREE, TWO, ONE. YEAH, THAT ONE WAS A LOT, A LOT COOLER. YEAH, VERY LIKE WIZARD OF OZ ESQUE WITH THIS GREEN FIRE. BUT THERE IS ONE MORE TRICK UP MY SLEEVE. OH, YOU ALREADY GOT A ROLLED UP EXPERIMENT. IF YOU GO AHEAD AND GRAB ME A CLEAR BALLOON FROM OUR BACK OVER THERE. THIS CLEAR BALLOON DOESN’T HAVE A CHEMICAL SALT, BUT ACTUALLY HAS A SPECIAL METAL POWDER CALLED MAGNESIUM POWDER. MAGNESIUM POWDER IS THE STUFF USED ON SPARKLERS, USUALLY USED ON THE 4TH OF JULY OR DURING LIKE NEW YEAR’S EVE. IT’S ALSO USED IN FIREWORKS TO MAKE THOSE FIREWORKS HAVE THAT RAZZLE DAZZLE EFFECT. AND THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT WE’RE GOING TO SEE RIGHT HERE FOR OUR FINAL EXPLOSION. ONCE AGAIN, USING OUR FIRE TRIANGLE OF HEAT, FUEL AND OXYGEN WITH A LITTLE BIT OF SPARKLE IN THREE, TWO, ONE. THEY JUST KEEP GETTING BETTER AND BETTER. THAT’S REALLY COOL. PRETTY COOL STUFF THAT WE CAN DO HERE WITH THE POWER OF CHEMISTRY AND FIRE. AWESOME. WELL, THAT WAS REALLY COOL. AND A DISPLAY LIKE THIS, HOW OFTEN CAN PEOPLE SEE IT AT THE ORLANDO? OH, THEY CAN SEE THAT HERE ALL THE TIME AT THE ORLANDO SCIENCE CENTER. THAT’S PART OF OUR KABOOM SHOW THAT HAPPENS RIGHT HERE IN OUR DIGITAL ADVENTURE THEATER. IT HAPPENS MOST WEEKEND DAYS AND ALL THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER. YOU GUYS CAN SEE THESE EXPLOSIONS AND LEARN SO MUCH MORE ABOUT ASTRONOMY, BECAUSE IT’S ALSO ASTRONOMY MONTH, RIGHT? THAT’S EXACTLY CORRECT. WE’RE GOING TO BE HAVING A LOT OF AWESOME ACTIVITIES RELATING TO SPACE, LEARNING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR HYDROGEN FUEL IN SO MANY MORE ASPECTS OF SPACE TRAVEL. SWEET. WELL, I HOPE TO SEE YOU GUYS HERE COMING UP THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER. IF YOU’D LIKE TO SEE WHAT OTHER COOL STUFF IS HAPPENING AT THE ORLANDO SCIENCE CENTER. IT’S OPE
The Science Of It: Explosive Fun From The Orlando Science Center
Updated: 2:00 PM EST Nov 19, 2025
The Science Of it: Explosive Fun From The Orlando Science CenterAstrology Month continues at the Orlando Science Center. Join Meteorologist Marquise Meda going over the chemical reactions that are used in fireworks explosions on the Fourth of July, while uncovering the history of rockets and pyrotechnics.
The Science Of it: Explosive Fun From The Orlando Science Center
Astrology Month continues at the Orlando Science Center. Join Meteorologist Marquise Meda going over the chemical reactions that are used in fireworks explosions on the Fourth of July, while uncovering the history of rockets and pyrotechnics.