MAD SCIENCE OF CHARLOTTE 

Mad Science has been educating and entertaining children in the greater Charlotte area for over 10 years and in 2005 it came under new ownership.  We have focused on bringing superior quality fun science programs to children ages 4 to 12.  Mad Science of Charlotte is dedicated to the vision of the founders of providing outstanding programs with innovative hands-on experiments and demonstrations through effective, high energy instructors.

Stephenie Durell brings her energy and focus to the directorship of Mad Science with responsibilities including instructor training and management, program development and service delivery.  You may also see her as "Marie Curious" as she is presenting high-energy shows to enthusiastic children around Charlotte.  Stephenie started with Mad Science of Atlanta in before joining Mad Science of Charlotte.  Prior to this she worked for Spherion, a Coca Cola Company in Atlanta.  Stephenie received her BA from Tulane University and MA from Goldsmiths College in London, UK.

Don Buchhorn is the owner and Chief Mad Scientist.  He began his career with the SCM Corporation where he held sales and management positions as well as staff roles.  Don moved to      L'Oreal Paris where he established the learning and development group while focusing on sales training, leadership education and organizational development.  Consulting assignments followed with a number of industry leading companies to assess, train and coach leaders.  Don came to Charlotte when he was recruited to help with the creation of a corporate university for Ingersoll-Rand that focuses on the top 5% of leaders and emerging talent.

THE MAD SCIENCE GROUP

For over 20 years Mad Science has been dedicated to providing hands-on and interactive science activities for children.  The aim is to spark the imagination and curiosity of children everywhere by providing them with fun, entertaining and educational activities that instill a clear understanding of what science is really about and how it affects the world around them. By presenting subjects in an entertaining way that shows its connection to their everyday lives, children will have their imaginations stimulated and have a lifelong curiosity about the world.

The idea for Mad Science was in born in Montreal in 1986 when co-founders Ariel and Ron Shlein made a crucial discovery: kids like fun, cool science. The development of "edu-taining" birthday parties was a natural outgrowth of the popularity of Mad Science demonstrations, and within just a few years, thousands of children throughout the city were enjoying official Mad Science programs.

The Mad Science vision is to be the world leader in fun, wholesome and educational science entertainment, with a recognized consumer brand, strong community support, and global operations that reach children in every facet of their lives.

In 2009 Mad Science will reach over 6 million children worldwide through more than 15,000 schools, 28,000 birthday parties and major productions - including a permanent installation at the Kennedy Space Center.  Our partnerships also include Scholastic Books, MGM, and others.