Chicago’s Best STEM Assembly For K–8 Schools

The real secrets of magic are in your science textbook

What if your students could learn science through secrets?

In this curriculum-aligned STEM assembly, I use magic as the hook and science as the payoff.

Students discover how magicians have relied on real principles from physics, math, and engineering for centuries. Along the way, they learn how those same STEM concepts apply to their lives… and how creative thinkers use science in unorthodox ways to make the impossible happen.

What students learn

Topics covered vary by grade band, but here’s a sample of what’s in this assembly:

• 1

  Electromagnetism & history

  Students help recreate a trick that prevented a 19th-century war, by building a working electromagnet on stage.

• 2

  Logic & circuits

  A group of students becomes “human transistors,” demonstrating how modern computers process information.

• 3

  Exponential thinking

  The power of two gets visualized in a way students will never forget, showing them how seemingly simple numbers drive today’s tech.

• 4

  Science vs. magic, and the power of sharing

  Magicians keep discoveries secret. Scientists share them so others can build on what came before. Your students leave understanding they’re part of that long chain of discovery, and that they have the baton now.

Designed for every grade

The show is tailored in real time for each audience. Younger students get more visual magic and storytelling; older students dig deeper into the STEM content.

Even skeptical 8th graders stay engaged, because instead of feeling fooled, they are learning the “forbidden secrets” of magic. Students learn the real methods behind the illusions, giving them a sense of ownership and insight while reinforcing what they’re already learning in class.

Fast setup, zero stress