Want to see a man lie on a bed of nails and a hydrogen balloon explode?

Then you’ll want to go to the 19th Annual Rutgers Faraday Holiday Children's Lecture – featuring Physics Professor Mark Croft and physics support specialist David Maiullo – on Friday, Dec. 9, Saturday, Dec. 10, and Sunday, Dec. 11. It’s for children between 5 and 110 years old.

Maiullo is the star of the award-winning Off-Broadway That Physics Show at The Elektra Theatre in New York City.

The Rutgers physics shows and demos channel the spirit of the annual Christmas Lectures at the Royal Institution in London, launched in 1825 by Michael Faraday. He was a renowned English physicist and chemist whose work eventually led to the electric motor and electrical generation.

Faraday sought to convey the excitement of scientific discovery to children, and the Christmas Lectures live on today at the Royal Institution.

Rutgers’ free 90-minute shows – each preceded by an hour of demonstrations – will be in the Physics Lecture Hall at 136 Frelinghuysen Road on the Busch Campus in Piscataway. The shows are open to the public, with no parking passes required, and you should arrive early to ensure seating.

The demonstrations will be based on those used in Rutgers physics courses. They were designed to inform and inspire with an eye toward humor and exciting the imagination. The show seeks to highlight the fun in science. Demonstrations will include an exploding hydrogen balloon, a man lying on a bed of nails and the use of a fire extinguisher to power a roller skater or a cart across the room.

The schedule is as follows:

- Friday, Dec. 9: Pre-show demos in the Physics Lecture Hall lobby begin at 6 p.m. The show is from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

- Saturday, Dec. 10: Pre-show demos in the lobby begin at 2 p.m. The show runs from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

- Sunday, Dec. 11: Pre-show demos in the lobby begin at noon. The show is from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Overflow seating will be accommodated through an internet TV link to an adjacent classroom. The shows will also be live-streamed on YouTube. Here are the YouTube links for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

If you miss the Rutgers shows, Maiullo will be performing in “That Physics Show” at The Elektra Theatre in New York City through May.