In a dark room, as millions of volts of electricity surge through Art Huffman's body via a wire in his hand connected to a "Tesla coil," a fluorescent bulb that he holds in his mouth lights up, illuminating the faces of hundreds of awestruck children.

"I like putting on shows for kids," said Huffman, senior lecturer in UCLA's physics department. "I can interact with them and see their reaction to the experiments I do. But mainly I do these things to get them interested in physics and the sciences."

About twice a month, Huffman conducts free demonstrations of the basics of physics to children at public and private schools in the Los Angeles area. For each show, which lasts about an hour but takes three to five hours to set up, perform and disassemble, he runs through nearly a dozen physics principles.

He inhales helium to raise his voice an octave or two, then switches to sulfur hexafluoride, which lowers his voice to a deep bass. He dips a balloon into liquid nitrogen to show how it deflates, then drops the limp balloon on the floor, where it reinflates and floats up toward the ceiling. He follows by immersing an apple into the liquid oxygen, then removing it and striking it with a hammer, shattering it like glass.

Huffman, who teaches freshman and sophomore introductory classes in physics and astronomy, found his avocation 20 years ago when he first joined UCLA. One of his early responsibilities was taking care of the physics demonstrations room.

"I learned how to perform the different demonstrations," he said. "I thought to myself, 'I could do this.' "

Huffman estimated he has put on more than 200 shows to date. While he is at ease with people of any age, he especially enjoys elementary school-age students, who respond very enthusiastically to his shows.

"Your lesson was the best I had in my four years of school," wrote Grigoriy M., a student at Brentwood Science Magnet School, in a thank-you note. "I really liked the lesson, and I liked everything I learned."

During his own childhood, Huffman took an interest in physics even before he entered grade school, playing with electric bells and batteries, "trying to figure out how they work," he recalled. Then, as an elementary school student, he saw a show similar to the one he now does. That show, he said, solidified his decision to study physics.

Through his demonstrations, Huffman hopes to ignite the innate curiosity of children.
"One thing I love about doing this stuff is I get to hear what the kids say. Most of the time they say something like, 'Ooh! Ahh!' Occasionally you get a 'Where can I get one of those?' " Huffman said.

"A lot of the times, though, they ask something relevant that my UCLA students never ask."