For teacher introductory presentation:

• movie clip of Harry choosing his wand from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (show students a portion of a video of the movie, or use the 3:55 minute video clip of that part of the movie on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5whe9XtdQgw)
• 1 (or more) sparkler(s), made with materials and procedures described in this document
• lab surface/table with stationary lighter or Bunsen burner
• whiteboard, markers and erasers

Each group needs:

• 9 g dextrin (starch)
• 20 ml distilled water (available at grocery stores)
• 20 cm length 2 mm diameter Fe wire (iron wire available at hardware stores)
• 150 ml beaker
• stir rod
• hot plate
• test tube rack
• 18 x 150 mm test tube
• oven capable of 120° C
• aprons, goggles and fume hood
• scale with weighing dishes, to measure ingredients
• wash bottle, for cleaning glassware
• (optional) hair dryer
• W&C Student Lab Handout, one per student

Sparkler Chemistry 1: "Gryffindor" (ingredients for one wand)

• 5 g iron powder (-200 mesh)
• 1.0 g magnesium powder (-325 mesh)
• 7.0 g aluminum powder (-40 + 325 mesh)
• 6 g barium nitrate
• 25 g potassium nitrate

NOTE: The following ingredients are available from Flinn Scientific, Inc. (www.flinnsci.com), Alfa Aesar (www.alfa.com), or Sigma Aldrich (www.sigmaaldrich.com):

• powdered metals: iron, aluminum, magnesium
• nitrates: potassium and barium nitrate
• miscellaneous: dextrin, iron wire, distilled water