Try these cool body magic tricks with your family and friends!

The Forceful Finger

What You Need:

-Friend or family member

-Chair

What to Do:

1. Have your volunteer sit up straight in a chair, with his or her head tilted slightly back.
2. Press your index finger against your volunteer's forehead (making sure that he or she does not lean forward in the chair). Challenge your volunteer to stand up. Magically, he or she won't be able to do it!

Explanation:

When you're sitting, your center of gravity is over the seat of the chair. To stand up, you have to move your center of gravity over your feet. (In other words, you have to move your head forward.) Just a little pressure from the forceful finger will keep your volunteer seated (and stunned)!

The Mind Reader 

What You Need:

-Trusty magic partner

-Fascinated audience

What to Do:

1. Have your trusty partner take the stage while you wait in the wings (or somewhere you can't see or hear what's going on). Your partner will ask the audience for a secret number between one and ten.
2. When your partner has the secret number, he or she (or an audience member) can bring you back to the stage. 
3. Tell the audience you can guess the secret number by reading your partner's mind. Put your fingers on your partner's temples and close your eyes for magical inspiration.
4. For magicians' eyes only: When a person presses his or her teeth together, it moves a muscle in each temple. When your fingers are on your partner's temples, just count how many times the muscles move. (For example, your partner can tell you that the number is eight by pressing his or her teeth together eight times.)