Bringing the Magic of Physics to Life with The Magic of Physics Children's Show

The Magic of Physics Children's Show is an outreach program designed by the Physics and Astronomy Graduate Student Organization (PAGSO) at West Virginia University. With a grant awarded by the Forum on Outreach and Engaging the Public, PAGSO created a show to reach the local West Virginia community by bringing physics demonstrations, with a magical and theatrical flair, to children and their families. These demonstrations covered topics including Bernoulli's Principle, the Doppler effect, invisible forces like gravity and centripetal acceleration, electricity and magnetism, conservation of energy, and more. Opening in Spring 2025, the inaugural Magic Show hosted a sold-out show with close to 200 guests. The first fifty children also received goodie bags with science materials and easy experiment guides for them to follow at home, purchased with funds from the FOEP grant. The second iteration of the Magic Show, hosted in Fall 2025 with a spooky Halloween theme, drew a comparably large crowd. This show was made possible with the help of 12 - 15 graduate student volunteers and support from the WVU Physics and Astronomy Department. PAGSO hopes to host more Magic Shows in the future to keep teaching children about the wonder in the world around them, remembering that it's not magic, it's physics!