The Science Behind Superheroes

EXPLO students in the Mystery of Marvels: Superhero Lab Science workshop met Captain Fraido Heights, a highly decorated flying ace and one-inch Lego figurine.?Their task was to save his life.?

Each student used a combination of plastic bags, packing tape and balloons to make a parachute that kept Captain Heights from meeting an untimely demise. They tested their creations by placing them in 4-foot fan-powered wind tunnels, then judged their success by measuring the time and height at which the parachute stayed in the air.?

Mystery of Marvels takes comic-book-style scenarios and places them in the context of a lab science class. The students conducted hands-on experiments that simulated superpowers, and learned about the physics and chemistry that made these abilities possible. One student, 6th-grader Kush Shah, said the experiments were his favorite part of the class.?

“We got to work with dry ice, we got to make slime, we got to make crystals. It’s just really fun,” Shah said.

During the Captain Heights activity, Shah made 3 different parachutes, modifying each based on his observations of their floating ability. With advice from his instructor, Samuel Shiberou, Shah changed the size and weight of the parachute to ensure it stayed at the same height in the wind tunnel.?

When he finally found the perfect balance, Shah excitedly showed his instructor and classmates. After a “Good job!” from Shiberou, Shah changed the fan speed, eager to see how it would affect his parachute.?

Like most classes at EXPLO, Mystery of Marvels offers an immersive curriculum, rather than a traditional lecture-based school environment.?

“It’s kind of like a different experience from school because it’s really fun and it’s not like you really have to do classes but you still learn,” Shah said.?

Shiberou said the playful aspects of the class makes the lessons more memorable, as the instruction and hands-on activities are tied together.?

He added the class not only combines fun experiments with science education, but it also offers a philosophical look at superhuman abilities. On top of the physical way superpowers can be simulated, students discuss the ethics behind the heroes’ actions.?

“For their final project, they design their own superheroes who have different powers and weaknesses and they make a device or gadget that helps them in ethical situations,” Shiberou said. “For example … for one of my kids, there’s a hero that uses metal, and instead of the hero taking metal out of other people’s houses and just using metal that doesn’t belong to him and leaving some civilian with a hole in their wall, they have a metal suit that they take their own pieces out of.”?

This is Shiberou’s first year at EXPLO, where he also teaches the Dissection elective and advises a group of 4th-grade residential students.?

“The best part is the kids,” Shiberou said. “There’s some really great kids here, very inspiring. A lot of them think about things in a different way that I might not even have thought of.”?

On the last day of class, Shiberou let his students choose their final experiment. They decided to design and test a temperature-resistant super suit, using Shiberou as their lab rat.?

They created full-body armor from tape, plastic bags, and a pair of lab goggles. The class went outside, took their instructor’s temperature using a thermometer, and dumped a cooler of ice on his head. They then used the thermometer again to see if there was a change in temperature, testing the efficacy of the suit’s heat resistance.?

The experiment was unsuccessful, leaving a freezing instructor, a failed supersuit and six mini-scientists cackling in their oversized lab coats. While their hypothesis was not supported, the students ended the workshop satisfied with their results.