I hope this is the right forum for this topic. I'm curious what it takes to put on a magic show that uses chemistry for all of the tricks. All of the tricks would be revealed to the audience in order to teach the audience the principles of chemistry.

Has anyone done this?

There is some great chemical magic on you tube. Once you explain it the magic is gone. My favourite is the clock reaction, which can be made to look very magical.

I saw the clock reaction when I was a kid. I still don't understand how it works, even though the chemist explained it to me.

It involves 3 reactions.
Peroxide reacts with iodide producing iodine, but this iodine immediately reacts with thiosulfate. When all the thiosulfate is used up, the iodine immediately reacts with starch, giving a blue-black color.
The amount of thiosulfate is the controlling factor. The color change can be timed to the second.

Richard

Why doesn't the color-change reaction happen as soon as the chemicals are mixed? Why such a delay?

The generation of iodine is slow. The other reactions are fast. This reaction is used in college chemistry to demonstrate rates of reaction.

Richard

This was done for many years by John Bloor - a Chemistry Professor at University of Tennessee

He had to stop because of fire codes and insurance restrictions in many buildings today.

He can be contacted through the UT directory and might be able to help. Be prepared for a lot of stories ...

There was a professor at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo who made a video of his Chemistry Magic Show I believe.