``I want to keep playing. Water's no fun!''

``What would make water fun?''

``If I were a whale, water would be fun. Whales get to bubble and spout!''

``You can bubble and spout like a whale. Come and try it. I'll poke a hole in this yogurt cup and you put it under the water.''

``I like those bubbles. But where's the spout?''

``Here, push this cup into the first one really fast, like you do when you're stacking them to put them away.''

``That's pretty neat. But now I need some friends to show it to.''

``Okay. I see some children out there. Call some of them up here to play with you. I'll poke holes in more yogurt cups for them.

``You, and you, and you. Come on and play with me. What are your names?''

``Like this....What do you think? What else can we do?''

``I see you all know how to pour water. Do any of you know how to pour air?''

``I don't see anything pouring.''

``Do you remember the bubbles you made from the hole in the cup?''

``Yes. But when you pour, the stuff has to come out from the mouth of the cup.''

``Okay. But what was in the cup that made the bubbles come out the hole in the bottom?''

``So, there's air in the cup when it's upside down whether it's up here, or in the aquarium under the water?''

``Can you think of an experiment to prove that?''

``The cup carries its own air supply, kind of like an astronaut's space suit.''

``I've got an idea. If I stuffed a wad of paper into the bottom of a glass, would it stay dry when the glass is under water?''

``There's only one way to find out. You've got to do the experiment.''

``Who would like to help me?''

``Who will check the paper to see if it's wet or dry?''

``That's wonderful. There's enough air in that cup to keep the paper dry. (if necessary -- add `at least some of the time.')

``What else can we do with water that's fun?''

``Have you ever played with sinkers and floaters?''

``What about my buckets? Sometimes they float and sometimes they sink.''

``First, show us how you make them sink.''

``Like this.''

`` Now, show us how you make one float.''

``Like this. It's sort of like a boat. I can put things in it, and it still floats.''

``How many toys do you think your boat will hold?''

``Let's find out. I'll put this block in.''

``Come on (names of children), you can put your toys in, too.''

``Did you see what's happening to the bucket? It's sinking. Why would it do that?''

``I think I know how to make it sink all the way! I'll put a rock in it.''

``You did make it sink. But do you know why it sank?''

``Because it's heavy?''

``That's a good question. Do heavy things sink in water?''

``Can we do an experiment?''

``Sure. We can always do experiments. Here are some heavy things. Here's a block of ice and a piece of plastic.''

``Plastic isn't heavy.''

``It is if you have a big enough piece.''

``Okay. Should I drop them in the water?''

``Is that your experiment?''

``Yes. It will show if heavy things sink.''

Ice floats. Plastic sinks. Cormo is surprised. Some of the children might be, too.

``What happened?''

Grippy tries to get children to say that there's more to sinking and floating than being heavy. It depends on what material you have. A tiny piece of plastic can sink. A huge piece of ice can float. (we can have these props available.)

``That's not what I expected. The heavy ice floated and the light plastic sank.''

``I always love experiments that don't turn out the way I expect. They help me learn something new. And speaking of something new -- here's Riddles. He's always got something new to show us.''

``Is he going to pull a rabbit out of a hat?''

``Any magician can do that. I'm a scientific magician.''

``What do they do?''

``Scientific magicians do the unexpected. But then they give away their secrets. Science is for sharing.''

``Show us something! Show us Something!''

``Have you ever seen water run up hill?''

``Water is going to run up inside this tube, out of the aquarium and into this punch bowl. And while I'm doing that, I need some help for my next trick. Who will help Grippy grate the red cabbage?''

Meanwhile, Grippy gets the cabbage and grater and a small bowl and begins grating, with the help of any willing children.

``Watch the water carefully. There's nothing up my sleeve. You can do this at home in the bath tub if you have a tube or an old piece of hose. Pretty cool, huh?''

``This is called a siphon. A siphon is a tube that lets you move liquids from one container to another without having to lift them.''

``Thanks for watching out for me. The nice thing about siphons is that they connect two containers, so the two containers act as one. That means the water in the punch bowl will never get higher than the water in the aquarium. Cormo would you help me here? Please lift the punch bowl up a few inches.''

Cormo lifts the bowl and the water goes down in the bowl as it goes back into the aquarium.

``Would that work for a glass as well as a bowl?''

``Isn't it wonderful that she's always asking questions?''

``I love questions! And I love to do experiments to find out the answers. I'll just scoop this glass into the bowl and over the siphon. Then I'll take it out and see what the water does.''

``It's working! It's working!''

``And, if you don't have a tube or a hose, you can move water with a drinking straw. You just have to put the straw into the water, cover the top with your finger, and lift up. Like all magic tricks, it takes a little practice -- but you'll get it. Then you can carry the water wherever you want and just lift your finger off the top of the straw when you want the water to come out. Who wants to try it?''

As many children as want may try this.

``We've been playing with sinkers and floaters. That's something else you can do in the tub.''

``You saw plastic sink?''

``Yes. It sank.''

``Watch this.''

``How'd you do that?''

``Magic.''

``You promised you tell all your secrets. Remember!''

``Sometimes I don't tell. Sometimes I help you figure my secrets out for yourself.''

``Here's a wad of paper. Watch what happens when I drop it into the aquarium.''

``Now, watch when I put this paper boat in the water.''

``My bucket floated earlier -- until I put the rock in it and made it sink.''

``Then your bucket acted like a boat. So, here's a riddle: how is a bucket like a boat? Or like a strawberry basket?''

``That's right. And I know something else you can do with buckets. But since you aren't magicians, you should do this outside.''

``That's pretty neat. But what's the red cabbage for? You said that was your next trick.''

``You can dump the cabbage into the punch bowl. It needs to soak for a while. And while we wait, I'll do one more water carrying trick and I'll show you. Remember, ALWAYS do this trick over a sink or a tub, and only use a plastic or paper drinking cup. I'll place this 3x5 card over the mouth of this cup (any piece of cardboard or even stiff paper will do), and I'll turn it upside down. You didn't know you could carry water in a cup upside down, did you?''

``Why didn't the water fall out?''

``This paper is covering the opening on the cup, just like your finger covered the opening on the straw when you carried water in that. Do you see anything in common here?''

Children can be led to saying something like -- both are covering the opening you usually drink from.

``That's right. And the cover keeps air from getting in, as well as keeping the water from getting out. Something has to be in the cup -- either air or water.''

``That makes sense. We poured air out of the cup earlier. (child's name) would you show Riddles how we poured air?''

``I know one more trick with air and water. See this bottle of water. I'll poke this pin into the bottle. Now you tell me what you think will happen when I take the pin out.''

Children guess what will happen. Riddles doesn't answer.

``Now, lets do the experiment.''

``Here goes.''

``The pin hole was blocked by the water in the bottle. Air couldn't get in through the hole, so the water couldn't get out. Something has to be in the bottle. Now if I unscrew the top, and let air in, watch what happens. Now if I screw it back down again, watch what happens. Again.''

Riddles unscrews lid and water comes out the hole. He screws it back on and the water stops flowing. He repeats several times.

``That's a good trick, Riddles. But what about the red cabbage? Look, it's turned the water purple!''

``It's ready. Thanks for reminding me. Now, where's my ladle?''

``I'm feeling left out here. What can I do?''

``Each of these glasses has a clear liquid in it. I'm going to ladle some of the purple cabbage water into each glass. Before I pour, you can read the labels on these glasses, so we'll all know what's in them.''

``And I've got a job for each of you children, too. (There should be 5 children, or if only 4, Cormo can be one for this trick.) I need each of you to name the color you see when I pour the purple cabbage water into the glass. I'll tap you on the shoulder when it's your turn.''

``That's a really good trick. Now tell us how it works. Why does red cabbage turn all those colors?''

``Some things even magicians don't know. To learn that you'll have to study chemistry. The trick you can remember is that sour liquids like vinegar make red cabbage turn pink. And slippery ones like soap make it turn green. You can try out other liquids in your kitchen.''

``And now Cormo, it's time for your bath.''

``Not in front of all these people!''