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Sporting a Finnish accent, a shock of blond hair and a multi-colored lab coat open to reveal a loud T-shirt promoting a rockabilly band, Heko Montonen hardly seems a typical science teacher. As he energetically bounds back and forth in front of an auditorium packed with students, it becomes clear this is no ordinary science lesson.
"Step back a little," he tells a child demonstrating the relative distance of the furthest electron from its nucleic center if the mass of protons and neutrons were blown up to the size of a soccer ball. "A little more. A few more steps...
"OK. Now go three more miles," he says with a sudden smile as chuckles ripple through the auditorium. "Imagine three miles. That's where the outermost electron of an oxygen atom would be."
"Everything is presented in show business style," Montonen explains to a reporter later as he sets up between presentations. "That's one of the decisions we made in our science theater. First, you have to connect to the audience, get them interested. After that, it's time for content."
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Also check out this video from Fox News St. Louis to learn more about the festival.
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