We developed the “Science in a Box” model in response to local science outreach educators who wanted a short, portable show that could be performed in public spaces as well as at schools and museums. The box of mention is simply a refrigerator box on wheels with windows in the front, doors in the back, and a slit in the side.

Our first “Science in a Box” is titled, “The Boiling Point,” and investigates the molecular nature of vaporization. Science in a Box events in development include: “The Circuit Game” (physics), and “Alien Blood” (biotechnology).

Characters: The Scientist, her assistant “Vinnie White,” and the Box. The Box is animated by an actor who presents models, equipment and signs, runs music, and uses sounds and lights to “talk” to the Scientist.

Dramatic Question: The Scientist leads an investigation of the question: “What happens to water when it boils?” The arc of the “story” is a simple version of the scientific method including observation, hypothesis, experiment, modeling and prediction. The theatrical “payoff” is the answer to the question, deduced from the experiment and Act-It-Out model.

Act-It-Out: The Dance of the Water Molecules. Children from the audience don H’s and O’s to represent water molecules. They dance faster as the water “warms” and spread out as the water “boils.”