Discovery Channel 'nerd' has a blast at high school

The most frequent question asked of Steve Jacobs is, "Can we blow something up?"

It was no different Friday, when Jacobs, the Discovery Channel's chief scientist, visited Notre Dame Regional High School. And blow stuff up he did.

Jacobs performed various experiments for the student body in honor of Notre Dame freshman David Westrich, who recently took third place in the Discovery Channel's young scientist challenge.

"Science sometimes gets a bad rap among young people. It's the bastion of nerds," Jacobs said.

Westrich and other Notre Dame students joined Jacobs on stage Friday for a pretzel-eating contest, wood-chip explosions and other hands-on physics lessons that drew lots of "oohs" and "aahs" from the audience.

Jacobs has been an assistant on Nickelodeon's "Mr. Wizard's World" host of "Jake's Attic" and has also appeared on "The Tonight Show." In 1999, he was named a "wizard" by the Royal Institution of Great Britain, an honor bestowed on famous scientists since the 1800s.

And now, Jacobs is looking for a wizard to take his place.

"I'm trying to find a young wizard to carry on the ability to communicate science to the public," Jacobs said. "Someone who delights in science. It's rare to find people now who will take the time to explain things."

David Westrich might be a candidate for the position, Jacobs said, which is one reason he chose to visit Notre Dame.

Westrich's science project, which explored the lead content in invertebrates near Herculaneum, Mo., was chosen from some 4 million projects entered in science fairs in 2003. The entries were eventually narrowed down to around 2,000, then 400 semifinalists, then 40 finalists.

In October, Westrich and the other finalists flew to Washington, D.C., to compete in challenges such as identifying animal skulls for the honor of being named America's top young scientists. Westrich took third in the competition, earning a $3,750 college scholarship.

cclark@semissourian.com

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