Circus, Science Combine

Photo Vinny DuPre  Hand Balancer Li Liu demonstrates her abilities with a clown from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® circus at the second annual "Science of the Circus" performance at the New York Hall of Science on Thursday, February 21. Kids from throughout New York City learned about some basic science concepts as the clowns and acrobats demonstrated their artistry- and agility- at the New York Hall of Science in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey clowns Savannah Wang and Watson, along with Chinese hand balancer extraordinaire Li Liu, astound audiences across the country with acts of daring and skill that require concentration, patience, timing, dexterity and courage. Many of the laws and principles of physics, such as the laws of motion first expressed by Sir Isaac Newton (1643- 1727), usually expressed as Newton's First Law (also known as the Law of Inertia)- an object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in uniform motion tends to stay in uniform motion unless acted upon by a net external force- Newton's Second Law, an applied force, F, on an object equals the time rate of change of its momentum, p, and Newton's Third Law, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, and balance, gravity and momentum, are brought to life by these circus stars in their performances. At the second annual "Science of the Circus" performance at the New York Hall of Science on Thursday, February 21, the performers helped kids become familiar with these science concepts in a way that made learning them fun in two performances, at noon and 1 p.m. The performance was part of the midwinter break agenda of activities for kids of all ages offered by the Hall of Science.