ALMOST 350 pupils from West Devon primary schools were captivated by an exciting show entitled 'Fire and Ice' presented by the science department at Tavistock College recently.

College teachers Justin Smith and Paul Allen (pictured below and right) gave pupils the chance to see first-hand what happens when you cool a banana to -196 degrees celsius and at what speed a methane rocket will launch.

The show consisted of two parts — ice and fire.

Pupils were shocked and excited to see a range of experiments, which used liquid nitrogen, a very cold chemical to freeze flowers, tennis balls and rubber — shattering them with a hammer.

Pupils even had the chance to eat quick-frozen ice cream: chocolate milk mixed with the liquid nitrogen to freeze it in seconds.

The liquid nitrogen boiled at room temperature, giving the stage a spooky feel and giving the watchers something they had not seen close up before.

Then came the fire — Mr Smith demonstrated what happens when metals burn in oxygen and Mr Allen followed this up with demonstrations of burning ethanol, coloured metal solutions and the Thermit reaction — so hot it can melt through cars!

The show finale was the loudest — pupils covered their ears when Mr Smith lit balloons filled with hydrogen — an explosive gas — followed with the pair sending rockets filled with methane shooting across the hall.

All pupils said they had had a 'great time', but that they also learnt fascinating facts about science and reactions.