Cochrum meets science idols

The initial reaction to encountering a famous actor or singer might be to scream, hyperventilate and faint — not necessarily in that order. For science teacher Lisa Cochrum, this experience came firsthand when she was face to face with the two men who she had long idolized: the “MythBusters.”

When she and science teacher Kristen Thomson were invited to the a conference for science teachers in San Francisco seven years ago, Cochrum’s anticipation for the event bubbled solely due to the presence of show hosts, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, the stars of “MythBusters.” She could not contain her excitement as the countdown to The Day slowly came to a zero.

Cochrum’s passionate love for Savage (which has now deceased due to his being married) specifically was evident in the anticipation she couldn’t hold in throughout the day.

Cochrum’s love for them sprouted from their pure enthusiasm when it comes to anything science-related.

“They want you to get on the science train because science really is just the best thing,” Cochrum said. “When they blow things up, melt things in acid and run rocket cars down sled ramps, you want to learn how all of this works because it looks so cool.”

Cochrum’s words were caught in her throat all day as she waited for the moment to be graced upon her. 

Savage and Hyneman had been signing brochures to every teacher attending the conference. After waiting for hours, the almost explosive Cochrum bomb was relieved of having to wait any longer.

They came face-to-face and had a short conversation about the mallet Cochrum had towed along to the conference.

“They asked me what I used it for and commended me on probably being a great teacher after [I explained] that I used it to freeze and beat things,” Cochrum said.

Savage and Hyneman signed both the brochure and her mallet along Thomson’s brochure. Before the meeting could end, the unthinkable happened. In that moment, Savage touched her arm.

All of humanity came to a stop as their 30-second long conversation stretched into hours of pure happiness.

After the heart-stopping encounter with her idols (whom she is most definitely no longer deeply in love with due to Adam being married), Cochrum suddenly overcame a feeling of utter light-headedness. 

As she slowly sat on the floor, a “concerned” Thomson advised her to put her head between her knees in between giggles of laughter.

Seeing that Cochrum was still dazed, Thomson couldn’t hold back her laughter as she explained to Cochrum that the latter was about to faint after being in the presence of the MythBusters.

Today, Cochrum keeps her signed mallet above her whiteboard next to a series of pictures from the historical day. In them, Adam is clearly seen leaning towards Cochrum.

“You can see how interested he was in my mallet when he was touching it and asking me questions!” Cochrum said.

Cochrum continues to support the duo not only for their TV show but their moral attitudes.

“They are the epitome of everything I stand for as a science educator,” Cochrum said. “They make you want to learn about all the physics, chemistry, biology and earth science behind all the magic, and I try to accomplish this every day in class because science is, well, awesome!”