Celebrate your child's love of learning

© Wondertime

In a 2008 study at the University of Hertfordshire in England, 50 children took a crash course in magic. Psychologists assessing the rookie magicians found a sharp rise in their confidence and sociability. Maybe Hogwarts had the right idea -- teach your muggle a little magic and watch him grow before your very eyes.

How-To Magic Videos Coming Soon!

Magic Trick 1: Ice Breath
Magic Trick 2: The Climbing Ring
Magic Trick 3: Queen Runaway
Magic Trick 4: Fantastic Elastics
Magic Trick 5: Money Clip Flip

teller talks!
The silent half of the magician duo Penn & Teller was hospitalized at age 4 1/2; after a day of making snow angels led to a serious cold. Recuperating at home in bed, he sent away for a Howdy Doody magic set and began learning the craft that now consumes his life.

And yes -- he can speak. In between escaping from locked trunks and catching bullets, he gave us his best advice for young magicians.

1. Rehearse! "Do tricks so many times you can't fail. Then have a friend you trust sit, watch, and say, 'I saw that thing sticking out of your hands!' (Even Houdini started off working with his brother.) It can take a very long time for something to get into your bones and become a beautiful thing. I just spent 18 months working on a terribly simple-looking trick for our live show. Be patient with yourself."

2. Involve the audience. "All great kid magicians I've seen are experts in taking the audience's energy and bringing it to the stage."

3. Don't rely on storebought gimmicks. "Don't buy tricks, buy magic books. If you buy a gadget, it'll break. If you learn a skill, you can use it on all occasions and develop it your whole life long."

ice breath
just a huff and a puff is all it takes to freeze a cup of water
While this trick involves no sleight of hand, it does require a bit of practice. That's because it's a pure sales job. You have to sell the trick as you set it up, and keep selling while you give it a chance to work.

the business: Cut a sponge into a circle that fits tightly into the bottom of a nontransparent paper or plastic cup and won't fall out when you turn the cup over. Place an ice cube on top of the sponge. Put a small amount of water (about ⅛ cup) into a clear glass or a small clear pitcher.

the show: Present the glass (or pitcher) of water to your audience. Explain that you have really cold breath and you can freeze water just by blowing on it! Hold up the cup with the hidden sponge and ice cube, and pour in the water or invite a member of the audience to do it. (Be sure to keep the rigged cup high enough so your audience can't see in.) Now blow on the sponge cup with your ice breath, allowing time for the sponge to soak up the water. Slowly turn the cup over and let the ice cube fall out.

tips:
• Wedge in two sponge circles for more absorbency.
• Squeeze out your sponges between shows.
• Wet your ice cube so it doesn't stick to the sponge.

the climbing ring
an ordinary ring defies gravity and climbs uphill
You'll need to practice this one a bit before you go live. But once you've got it down, you can do it anywhere you can find a bit of stretchy rubber band and a ring; this trick has legs.

the business: Find a stringy sort of rubber band, not one of those wide, fat bands that has no play when you pull it. Cut it so it's one long string. Stash a ring in your pocket -- any kind will do.

the show: Talk about how you've learned to charm small items so they levitate. In fact, if anyone has a ring, you'll show them. (If no one has a ring, pull the one from your pocket.)

Thread the ring on the rubber band. Grab one end with one hand. With the pointer and thumb of your other hand, pinch the rubber band somewhere in the middle, concealing the end in your palm. Raise the hand holding the end of the rubber band up and stretch the band to create a ramp, about 10 to 12 inches long, for the ring to climb. With the ring resting against the bottom hand, begin "focusing your energy." Loosen the grip of the fingers of your lower hand, slowly feeding the slack rubber band through your fingers. Keep your hands the same distance apart so the band stays the same length. As the slack feeds through, the ring will be carried toward the higher hand.

Let the ring climb only enough to prove your mental skills and then take a bow.

queen runaway
nobody can catch the elusive queen
Once you've set up the cards, this trick works itself, even when you break the cardinal rule for magicians and perform it twice.

the business: From an old deck of cards, remove a red queen and four black numbered cards. Overlap the five cards in a straight line, with the queen in the middle, so about ½ inch of each card's face shows. Glue together and let dry. Find a nice big colored paper clip (in a pinch any clip will do).

the show: Tell this story: "In the Kingdom of Odd, an evil queen has proclaimed an end to all pickles. When Prince Pickle hears the news, he runs to the castle to throw the queen in jail, but the sneaky queen escapes. Wait! She's just been spotted and we can help nab her!"

Show the cards face forward so the audience sees the queen in the middle. Offer the paper clip "handcuffs" to a volunteer. Turn the cards around so they face you and ask your volunteer to slide the paper clip over the queen. Then, with a flourish, turn the cards back toward the audience. The paper clip is nowhere near the queen. She got away again!

fantastic elastics
with the flick of a hand, rubber bands change fingers
Here's another chance to tell a tale, this time about a rubber band so sneaky, so full of mad ninja skills, that jail can't contain it.

the business: Find a couple of rubber bands (hair ties work well too). Two different colors? Perfect!

the show: With the back of your hand facing the audience, put the first rubber band around your pinkie and ring fingers. Loop the second rubber band around the top of your pinkie and twist to encircle your pinkie, then move to your ring finger to do the same. Repeat until all four fingers (no thumb) are encircled (#1, above). No way that bottom rubber band is going anywhere this time, right?

With the back of your hand still facing the audience, pull the bottom rubber band down (#2), then bend your imprisoned fingers and loop the rubber band around the tips (#3). With your magic breath, blow on your palm, the back of your hand still facing the audience. As you finish saying your special magic word, flip up your fingers and watch the bottom rubber band escape to the pointer and middle fingers. This ninja magic gets better the more you practice.

money clip flip
paper clips magically link themselves together
This one's tricky at first, but once you learn how to fold and clip the bills, it works every time. And it can be used to conjure an allowance supplement from Grandpa.

the business: Get -- or borrow -- a crisp dollar bill and two medium-size paper clips. Different colors will make the joining more dramatic.

the show: Boast that you can hook two paper clips together without ever touching them. Next, with George's mug facing you, accordion-fold a dollar bill into thirds, left hand over right (#1, below). Slide one paper clip on the bottom two layers near the far right edge. Slide the other paper clip over the top two layers at the far left edge (#2). (Practice this until you nail it.) When you're all set, take hold of the right edge of the bill with your right hand, and the left edge of the bill with your left hand (#3).

Show the audience how far apart the paper clips are. After a couple of little practice tugs, give the bill a firm tug. The paper clips will click together and fly up and onto the floor. The harder you pull, the higher the paper clips soar. For your next trick, pick up the linked paper clips, display them (#4), and quietly pocket the dollar bill.