Doktor Kaboom returns to the Fringe with his ‘Wheel of Even More Science!’ and with last year’s show being ‘The Wheel Of Science!’, but this time having added more experiments, the title makes perfect sense.
The room is packed with family groups of all denominations and the kids are chatting and excited waiting for the show to start. On stage is the aforementioned Wheel, with the different experiment names written around it plus various pieces of cool looking science-y stuff.
Doktor Kaboom enters the stage area and confirms how wicked cool his hair is and how he speaks funny, much to the joy of the kids, and with them now fully on his side he lays down the house rules – science is fun but can be dangerous – so listen up kids.
I loved this about the show last year as well, he is an expert at doing things the kids love (the term stupid fathead gets a great reaction for example) but is alway teaching them something too. There are life lessons scattered throughout the show about believing in yourself and how to succeed, but it never feels forced and that is a great skill to have.
The way the show works is to spin the Wheel (of Even More Science!) and where it lands relates to a random experiment which is then played out on stage.
This means you never quite know what one you will be getting, with some involving just the Doktor and others needing a child picked from the crowd to participate.
The experiments are educational but also great fun, and the hands shoot up whenever someone is needed from the crowd as the children get more and more invested.
Unfortunately, the pace slows somewhat when Doktor Kaboom spends a little too long explaining one of the subjects about half way through, and it turns into more of a traditional science lesson.
The thing I love about this show is the secret learning that is happening, the kids are enjoying themselves so much they don’t realise that they are also taking on knowledge – but this lull in the middle that doesn’t have any of the visual elements he is so good at doing means some children start to get a bit fidgety.
This aside, the show is a blast, and he absolutely pulls back their attention in the last 10-15 minutes with a quick fire couple of experiments from the wheel, so the kids will be leaving happy and remembering this rather than the dip in proceedings, which is exactly how they should remember the larger than life Doktor Kaboom.
Overall this was a great show, only hampered by the fact he could have fitted in a couple more experiments, the real gems and focus of the show.
If you have kids this is one they should love. Very interactive, the humour is bang on for the younger ones, there are some jokes thrown in for the grown-ups too and they even (accidentally) learn something.
One final thing, if you get the chance to choose an experiment and it hasn’t come up make sure you shout ‘YA!’ the loudest for the one called ‘Hovercraft’, you won’t regret it – although maybe be prepared to be making your own at home that night when they fall in love with the idea.
Doktor Kaboom and the Wheel of Even More Science!
12:00
Pleasance Courtyard – Pleasance Beyond
Aug 10-17, 19-27
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/doktor-kaboom-and-the-wheel-of-even-more-science
