Armed with beakers, burners and pop bottles, "Science Wizard" Bob Culp showed that he does not need a wand or rabbit to work his special brand of scientific magic.

The Ohio University Southern science professor had the crowd jumping, laughing and screaming Wednesday as he performed physical and chemical science experiments for two dozen youth from the Children's Center of Ohio, a residential facility for children ages 13 to 18 who are in temporary custody of the state.

"I think it is a great educational experience for them," Children's Center executive director Mike Burke said of the youth who came from the boy's center in Patriot and the girl's center in Kitts Hill. "It lets them see that education is more than the everyday things we do in a classroom."

The children roared with laughter and shock as hydrogen-filled soap bubbles blazed from his hand and the teacher blasted a hydrogen-filled potato chip can up to the ceiling.

Culp demonstrated atmospheric pressure by putting a deflated balloon on top of a beaker and heating the water so that the evaporated water inflated the balloon.

Sixteen-year-old Jamieann answered many of Culp's tough science questions, but said she does not have any plans to become a scientist.

"I guess I am just smart. I have always hated science," she joked. "I just kind of picked it up."

Ben, a 17-year-old from Bethel, has plans to go into nursing so he was interested in many of the experiments.

"I learned some new stuff and saw how things are going to work," he said. "I thought this was going to be something real boring but it turned out a lot different."

While most wizards have wands or some other props, Culp's most-used tool was something that can be found in nearly any household.

"The world's greatest scientific equipment is a 2-liter coke bottle," he said. "We use them for all kinds of stuff."

The Science Wizard is just one aspect of the university's Natural Wonders Outreach Program that is based out of the Nature Center in the Lake Vesuvius Recreation Area that has grown to include about 20 animals. Other attractions include snakes, arachnids and geological presentations

Averaging about one presentation per week, the program continues to grow, Culp said. He would like to add a Natural History museum, an astronomy observatory and expand the outreach programs to include mammals.

"In the last three years, we have touched the lives of over 10,000 kids in the area with our programs."

If the students could take one thing away from the presentation,

Culp said he hoped it would be "that science is not a drudgery, science can be fun."