Scientist shoots food chain video at Myakka River park
EDUCATION: Robert Kampf's site is used by schools, parents and even NASA scientists
STAFF PHOTOS / E. SKYLAR LITHERLAND
Robert Krampf, creator of the popular TheHappyScientist.com website, photographs birds from a boardwalk at Myakka River State Park on Tuesday morning, while gathering content for a "Food Chain" series on his site.
By Christopher O'Donnell
Herald Tribune
Wednesday, January 5, 2011 at 1:00 a.m.
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SARASOTA COUNTY - Just 20 feet from where Robert Krampf set up his video tripod, a six-foot alligator lay sunning itself on a riverbank.
THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW
No matter what creature comes along, the "Happy Scientist" Robert Krampf seems to know all about them. Here are some of Krampf's observations from his day at Myakka River State Park:
• The wood stork trails its beak in the water waiting for fish. Its reaction time when a fish touches its beak, measured at 0.25 milliseconds, is among the fastest in the animal kingdom.
• Black and turkey vultures are among the few birds with a sense of smell. They use it to locate carrion from up in the air.
• The pink color of roseate spoonbills comes from their diet of shrimp and crustaceans. Spoonbills taken into captivity typically turn white as their diet changes.
A great white egret is reflected within the glass-smooth water at Myakka River State Park where Krampf photographs wildlife for his production. The 54-year-old scientist thought nothing of turning his back on the carnivorous reptile so he could get footage of an anhinga bird devouring a fish it just plucked from a weir at the Myakka River State Park.
"It has to eat it head first so the fins don't get stuck," Krampf said.
Nuggets of information like that pour constantly from Krampf, creator of the popular TheHappyScientist.com website that is used by hundreds of schools, parents and even some NASA scientists.
Krampf spent Wednesday filming at the park in East Sarasota County for a series he is making on the food chain, showing how energy moves through living systems. His videos are tailored to meet state science standards. Several school districts, including Manatee County, use his material in their curriculum. Schools pay $100 per year to use his website.
Krampf's videos are informative but quirky. A genial man with a bushy grey beard, he cracks jokes and ends each video with a blooper reel.
He also includes fun experiments students can try like how to make a microscope out of a laser pointer and a paperclip, or how to create a 25,000-volt charge with just a plastic cup and some aluminum.
His website attracts an average of 20,000 unique visitors each month. His weekly e-mail newsletter goes out to about 180,000 families in almost 100 countries.
"He has a real passion for teaching science," said Judy Griffin, Manatee County curriculum specialist. "He makes science not only understandable, but affordable for teachers."
Science has been a lifelong passion for Krampf. His parents endured smelly chemical sets and pet lizards and spiders that sometimes escaped. They bought him microscopes and telescopes.
A geology major, Krampf began teaching while working at the Memphis Pink Palace Museum in Tennessee. In 1987, he put together a traveling exhibition on electricity in which he donned a metal suit and passed high voltage charges through himself.
He turned to the Internet three years ago as a way to share his love for science with a bigger audience.
He taught himself video production and web design and now spends more than 70 hours a week producing video, photography and answering e-mails.
His mission has always been to make science fun, interesting and easy to grasp.
"It's easy for a scientist to stand up in front of a crowd and look smart," he said. "It's much more challenging to stand in front of a group and show them they're smart, to get them to understand."
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