Cooperatives sponsor ‘Making Accidents Disappear’ for more than 20 years
Eager for a welcome break from class, animated students stream into the Carlisle Elementary School cafeteria on a winter morning, believing magician Scott Davis is simply here to entertain.
But — like he has for over two decades — Davis has a trick up his sleeve.
Sure, the lively host of the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas’ long-running “Making Accidents Disappear” show will dazzle with illusions and jokes. But the real sleight of hand lies in his mission.
“I do the magic show, but I’m also here to teach kids something really important,” Davis says. “I’m here to make them care about electrical safety. It’s fun for them, but they’re learning, too.
“They remember these lessons. And I think that’s the best part of what I do.”
Right away, Davis has these aspiring magician’s apprentices under his spell.
“For this trick, I need a helper who is sitting up straight with their hands in their lap, smiling really big so I can see your teeth, paying really close attention and being really quiet,” Davis says. “If I see you doing all those things, I’m going to think that means that you want to help with the magic trick. But if you’re turned around or squirming around or talking to your neighbor, I’m going to think that means that you don’t want to help.”
And suddenly, like magic, everyone settles down in silence for a little hocus pocus with a safety focus.
Magic in the making
Davis, 52, discovered a passion for magic as a boy — not much older than the children he’s about to perform for — growing up in Benton with parents working in the Benton Public School System.
“My dad was a football and track coach at the high school I attended,” Davis says, admitting he personally had no ability or passion for athletics.
Furthermore, he adds, “I don’t play an instrument. I don’t have any musical ability. … I was the guy who didn’t know where he fit in.”
But then — poof! — magic changed that.
Davis says he was performing by eighth grade, perfecting his craft with lessons at a Little Rock magic shop while in high school. What began with shows for family and friends grew to include birthday parties and local events.
In the late 1990s, while working for an advertising agency, Davis became familiar with the work of the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas, then a client. The cooperatives had also hired him to do card tricks and such at gatherings.
That’s when a lightbulb went on.
Davis says, “I just said, ‘Hey, I have an idea. I want to pitch to you a school assembly magic show that the Electric Cooperatives can sponsor, since you’re already passionate about teaching safety in the community you serve.’”
He started in spring of 2002, and he’s been “Making Accidents Disappear” ever since.
“Scott Davis has been a great safety ambassador for the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas from the start,” says Rob Roedel, senior director of corporate communications for the Electric Cooperatives. “It is amazing how he can connect with the students and convey simple safety messages to stop, look and think around electricity. He is actually performing the program for children of students who saw his show 20 years ago.”
Some magic math: Today in Carlisle, Davis will be performing two of the 200 to 300 shows he’ll do this year. He drives some 20,000 to 30,000 miles yearly, hosting shows for schools in areas served by Arkansas’ 17 electric cooperatives and beyond. He estimates that tens of thousands — perhaps as many as 100,000 — Arkansas school children see his show each year. And cooperatives in some 15 to 20 other states have had Davis in to perform over the years.
“This is the only show of its type in the country,” he says. “I don’t know of any other magicians doing anything like this.” Davis’ other work role makes him unique as well; the magician is also the pastor of Hope Presbyterian Church in his hometown of Hot Springs.
What schools have come to appreciate about “Making Accidents Disappear” — it doesn’t make their money disappear. Shows are free to all Arkansas schools, public or private.
Carlisle Elementary Counselor Emily Shaw has arranged for Davis’ visits for many years, saying, “For me, it’s the safety — knowing that the students are getting truths about electricity and the dangers, and also ways to just conserve in their homes. (Davis) brings that awareness in a fun and exciting way that they’re engaged in.”
Sparking interest
Without spoiling any surprises or divulging any secrets, the dynamic show features 30 to 35 fast-paced minutes of color-changing canes, magic wands, funny hats and an extra special dry-erase board named Sparky, with plenty of education — and a lot of laughing and cheering — sprinkled in.
Conducting a brief show-and-tell with pliers and a hammer, Davis draws the parallel that electricity is another tool that must be used carefully.
Holding up an electrical outlet, Davis says, “This tool is actually the most useful tool in the whole world. In fact, this is a tool everybody here has already used today. This is it right here. Does anybody know what this is?”
“A charger?” a student guesses. It’s an answer Davis hears frequently in these days of cellphones and tablet computers.
Davis says incredulously, “Did you hear that, teachers? A charger!” He clarifies comically, “This is not a charger. This is an outlet. The thing you plug into here, I guarantee you, that’s a charger.”
He continues, “Just like I can hurt myself with a hammer, just like I can hurt myself with a saw, I can hurt myself with electricity. Does that mean electricity’s bad? No. It means that it’s a tool. That means I’ve got to learn — and you’ve got to learn — how to behave around this tool. And every tool has a dangerous part that you don’t touch.” He explains nothing should be put in an outlet except a plug, “and you shouldn’t plug something in unless it’s OK with mom or dad.”
Speaking of dads, Davis is one. He and his wife have five children, ages 9 through 18. Any aspiring magicians in the family?
“My 12-year-old is pretty interested in it,” Davis says. “In fact, because we homeschool, he has begun traveling with me sometimes to shows, and he’ll do his schoolwork in the car while I drive. He knows how to help me set up the whole show. He’ll sit off in the wings, do some schoolwork, watch the magic show and then help me tear down.”
Davis says he’d love it if his son continues the act one day when he’s ready to retire.
Then “Making Accidents Disappear” would never disappear.
To make Davis appear at their schools, educators can call their local electric cooperatives or reach out to Davis directly at scottdavismagic@gmail.com.