Mr. Freeze: Jerry Zimmerman brings thrills and chills to science

As Mr. Freeze, Jerry Zimmerman hopes to make science fun for children.

Like when he dips a banana into liquid nitrogen and it takes on properties unlike an ordinary banana.

"It becomes so hard you can pound a nail with it," said the Fermilab engineer.

Zimmerman will bring his Mr. Freeze show Saturday to Fermilab in Batavia. He will conduct a workshop at 6 p.m. in Wilson Hall's Ramsey Auditorium before  the Fred Garbo Inflatable Theatre show at 7 p.m.

Tickets to the Fred Garbo show are $26, $13 for age 18 and younger, and are available by calling 630-840-ARTS. More information is available at www.fnal.gov/culture.

Wilson Hall is accessible from Kirk Road using the Pine Street entrance.

Zimmerman has wowed thousands of children in the past 13 years as Mr. Freeze, showing the fun and interesting properties of cryogenics using liquid nitrogen.

"The hope is that they won't view science as a boring subject," he said.

Fermilab has sponsored the Mr. Freeze demonstrations since the 1970s. Zimmerman is actually the third person to take on the role of Mr. Freeze.

The shows are fun for him as well.

"It is one of the more fun, interesting parts of my job," Zimmerman said. "I am excited about science, and I bring that excitement to the show."

Fermilab is a high-energy physics laboratory and home of the Tevatron particle accelerator, used in experiments to explore the most fundamental particles and forces of nature.

Zimmerman brings his Mr. Freeze experiments to different schools across the Chicagoland area as well as Wisconsin and Indiana.

"That allows more schools to participate in the science that Fermilab is involved in," he said.

In two weeks, he will be taking his Mr. Freeze show to Los Angeles to the Department of Energy Career Expo.

Zimmerman said he is always thinking up new experiments. And on Saturday, he will be demonstrating the science behind Fred Garbo's show, which features unique inflatable objects.

"Liquid nitrogen boils into gas, which can inflate balloons," he said.

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If you go

What: Mr. Freeze will conduct a workshop at 6 p.m. in Wilson Hall's Ramsey Auditorium prior to the Fred Garbo Inflatable Theatre show at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Cost: Tickets to the Fred Garbo show are $26, $13 for ages 18 and under, available by calling 630-840-ARTS.

Information: Go to www.fnal.gov/culture.