As I walked into this classroom for maybe the third or fourth time, I gazed at my surroundings: an entire wall painted with colorful handprints, the four columns of black slate tables that sat two students each, the various quotes listed around the room - ranging in authors from Jimmy Neutron to Anonymous to various names I didn’t recognize. Displayed on the large table/cabinet/sink in the front of the room was the quote “You be sweet!”. I took a seat at my table. The tone of the bell prompted an interesting man, tall with some short whiskers on his chin, to the front of the room.

“Before we begin, I forgot to ask you yesterday if anyone here has a nut allergy.” A boy a couple of columns to the left of me raised his hand.

“Later in the year, my eighth-graders do an experiment where they burn different types of nuts to see which type burns the best. They burn all kinds of nuts: peanuts, cashews, almonds… Would that be a problem? Maybe on that day you could do and activity in a different room.”

“I only have a reaction if I eat nuts. Burning nuts shouldn’t bother me.”

“Alright. Does anyone else have a nut allergy?” Heads turned but no more hands were raised.

“Great. Today I have another observation test for you. In a moment, I will be doing some things up here. I want you to write down everything you see; pay attention to detail. Any questions?” Again, no hands were elevated.

“I’m going to get set up. While I’m doing so, everyone please get out a sheet of paper.” The clicking of binders and the shuffling of papers ensued. Curiously, the man stooped behind the large table/cabinet/sink that stood in the front of the room. He was out of sight but he could still be heard. A cabinet door opened. Some stuff was shuffled around. A cabinet door shut. A moment later, the man reemerged. He set a candle on the table. The candle was a dull white, maybe three or four inches tall, and maybe an three-quarters of an inch in diameter. In hindsight, that was rather short for a candle...

“Ready? Let’s begin.” He picked up a lighter off the table and immediately stared at the clock. He lit the lighter and hovered it above the candle until just the right moment… An army of pencils jotted down the time. The little flame danced above the candle and the man proceeded to the next task at hand. A nearby beaker was placed on top of a box; then back off… back on, off. On. Next another beaker was added to the tower. Then a graduated cylinder. Careful… Phew. The clock! The man quickly darted his attention away from his tower. He stared at the clock and again, at just the right time, he blew the candle out. A pause followed as the sound of pencils slowly diminished.

“So, what did you notice?” A few hands went up. A quick point determined the next speaker.
“The candle was lit at exactly 7:48.”
“Anything else?” Another quick point.
“ The first beaker was placed on and off of the box four times.”
“Okay….” The cycle continued until many details had been vocalized. Eventually, my teacher admitted this:

“I’m going to be honest with you; I’m a little disappointed…. This isn’t an ordinary candle. There have been clues since the moment you entered this room….”

I thought to myself “Well, this is awkward. What did we miss?” Then I glanced up to the board.
“H.C.P.
•Allergies?
•Observation Test”

Discussion followed. Then this...

“We’ve developed a hypothesis. Now let’s test it.” In one quick dash, my Honor’s Conceptual Physics teacher swooped up the candle from the table and thrust a bite into his mouth. What?! The effect of this action erupted across the room and even as time went on it continued to linger. I waited for him to spit it out, but my expectation succumbed to realization: he swallowed it. Raw potatoes cut with an apple corer make great dull white cylinders. Slivers of almond are fantastic wicks - as long as they are blown out before they burn out. During this one class period I learned how to observe - why I should observe. A common theme emerged in my thoughts about that class: I’d walk in and wonder “What awesome thing are we going to do today?”