Summer Camp - How to be a Magician

I joined a summer camp at Middlesex County College and the name of the camp was “How To Be a Magician”. Eugene Soucek was my teacher and he asked us to call him Gene. His last name is Soucek (pronounced sue-check). He had a joke. To remember his name you just have to think that if you SUE someone you get a CHECK.

 

We started the day by learning and watching different magic tricks. There are many kinds of magic tricks. There are card tricks and tricks where we don’t need any objects. There are some tricks where we use simple things we find at home like paperclips and dollar bills.

 

At the end of each day he would give us a puzzle. Sometimes, these puzzles were tricky riddles and sometimes, they are objects that we need to put together to get an answer. Here is a hard one - It is called the “Cannibals and Missionaries”. There is a crocodile infested river. There are 3 cannibals and 3 missionaries on 1 side of the river. There is 1 boat that holds 2 people. The goal is to get everyone across the river safely. There are some rules. All of the missionaries can row the boat. Only 1 cannibal can row the boat. If at any time on a side you see that there is more cannibals than missionaries, all the missionaries on that side will die. Also, there is no trick answer, so no one can swim or be tied to the boat. If you think you have the answer, comment below and I’ll tell you if it works. Gene also made us take an oath so we wouldn’t tell anybody the secret to how any magic is done.

 

On the last day of the camp, we had a magic show. Everyone in class did one magic trick. I did one called the 4 Aces magic. I did this because I liked the logic behind this trick. A good magic show involves a lot of acting and presentation along with knowing how to do magic. My favorite magic words are ip skooly ooten dooten bo bo skideeten dotten rah rah ha ha whoopee! You can view two of my favorite magic tricks in the video below:

 

 

 

 

 

In this magic camp I learnt a lot about magic. I had lots of fun. Gene is very nice and made us laugh. So, I’m going to let you comment and tell me if this camp belongs on my Cool Lane or not.

 

P.S. Don’t forget the puzzle and let me know if you can figure out the answer!