The Circus comes to the Museum!!

We had a beautiful summer day for our latest Drop-in-Day, Under the Big Top! Yes, the circus came to visit the Museum! Clowns, jugglers and all kinds of performers came and entertained us! Gonzo the Clown gave a fun talk about what it takes to turn himself from Robb into Gonzo! There sure is a lot to learn about being a clown, from picking the right outfit to face painting and learning to juggle! Gonzo also dazzled us with his magic tricks! He did all kinds of cool things including making an umbrella disappear and making a bunny appear out of a box!

There were also other circus performers who came to visit and they taught us lots of cool stuff about being part of a circus. We got to try our hand at being part of the circus too! There were all kinds of things to juggle including clubs and balls, we got to try spinning plates on sticks and other balancing activities that the performers gladly helped us with! Also there was a balance beam (only a few inches off the ground!) that gave us the feel of what it would be like to walk the high-wire high above an audience!

We also got to try hula-hooping! And there were a lot of hula-hoops and so many sizes! There were smaller hoops and very, very larges ones! One of the performers told us that actually the bigger (and heavier!) ones are the easiest to use!

To hula-hoop with the best of them there are a few steps you should know:

1. Stand with one foot in front of the other.

2. Hold the hoop straight out and touching your back.

3. Give it a big twirl in whatever direction you like.

4. Then just rock back and forth, using your footing as balance.

5. Have fun!!

And if you have trouble at first keep practicing! One circus performer said, “Circus tricks are about going for it and practicing a lot!” So keep at it, and one day you too could hula hoop like a pro!

Make sure you check back for next week’s Drop-In-Days! On Thursday August 13th we have the Dog Days of Summer II and on Friday the 14th meet Aexeous Robot! For more information please check out the museum’s website.