Standing at 6 feet 6 inches tall, Sacramento State junior Steve Irving might be an intimidating sight around campus. Tonight was a different story.

“Hi, I’m Dr. Neptune,” he said warmly as he extended a hand to an elementary school student less than half his size, as he welcomed him to tonight’s Mad Science Demonstration, held at 6 p.m. in the Hinde Auditorium.

The demonstration was a 30-minute long exhibition of pops, explosions, foamy reactions and even a “dinosaur sneeze” that sprayed giggling audience members with water.

“We try to spark little kids’ imaginations,” Irving said. “We try to trick them into learning.”

Irving was assisted by fellow “mad scientists” Amanda Gomez, a senior known during the demonstration as Dr. Energy, Christina Najera, a biochemistry major known as Dr. Lightning, and Dr. Meteor, Michelle Murphy.

While the demonstration had flashy, exciting moments, it also included some more specific principles, such as the three stages of matter and Bernoulli’s Principle, a basic necessity for flight.

The children in attendance giggled, clapped and cheered for the experiments, and a few were chosen as volunteers to help perform them.

“I was kinda scared,” said Matthew, a 9-year old whose well-placed stomp provided a powdery fuel for one of the many explosions of the night. Matthew attends Arlington Heights Elementary School in Citrus Heights.

“I liked the explosion,” said AJ, a 6-year old who attends Arnold Adreani Elementary School in Elk Grove.

The parents in attendance tonight didn’t just bring their children for a night of entertainment.

“It’s good to get kids excited about science at this age,” said Dave Margolis, a parent of an 8-year old from Phoebe Hearst Elementary. “If you can get them excited about the idea that science is fun at an early age, you’ll increase the chances that they will be interested in it.”

Another Phoebe Hearst parent, Yolanda Gomez, said she brought her son and daughter, ages 7 and 4, because she wants to expose them to as much science as she can outside of school.

“I don’t think kids get enough science,” she said.

The “mad scientists” performing tonight all shared a passion for science and working with children.

“Hopefully we’ll see some of them here as science majors some day,” Najera said.

“I’ve found I really don’t like desk jobs . . . here I get to be the boss but I get to work with kids,” Amanda Gomez said.

She said it is hard to feel like she made a difference with the children in the audience until they see her again and remember her, much to her surprise.

“It makes my job worthwhile,” she said.

The Mad Science Group is an international organization of franchises founded by Ariel and Ron Shlien, officially registered in 1990. The company has offered Caribbean cruise lines, performed at fairs and theme parks, and runs an after-school program for kindergarteners through sixth grade. The “mad scientists” who performed tonight have held demonstrations in Tracy, Sacramento, South Lake Tahoe and many schools, libraries and birthday parties in between.

Cody Kitaura can be reached at [email protected]