Gravity and fun:Gravity and magnetism mean something to all of us, but their role in the high-flying antics of circus performers can easily be lost in the spectacle under the big top.
James Soper knows a great deal about both. A former circus performer who studied science at university, Soper yesterday brought his combined talents to a group assembled in Sligo as part of Science Week. With equal parts education and entertainment, his show, The Science of the Circus, illuminates the ways in which circus acrobatics are both helped and hindered by the forces of nature.
His science background, years spent as a performer, and teaching skills mean he is well suited for Science Week, where the goal is boosting science's appeal, particularly for children.
"When I'm teaching, I'm looking for the 'Aha!' and when I'm performing I'm looking for the 'Wow!'," Soper says. "This way I combine the two. These shows are ways to slip science under the radar so kids are having enough fun they don't necessarily know they're learning."
Soper's demonstration starts with the basics of balance, then moves on to juggling and unicycles, with plenty of audience participation. It's a method he has crafted into a business, Science Shows for Schools.
Everyone involved, he says, has a passion for science, performing and teaching.
Another of Soper's shows during Science Week, Bending It Like Beckham, will explore the role of theories by Newton, Galileo and Coanda in David Beckham's trademark curving free kick.
"People tend to think David Beckham isn't particularly intelligent, but in 35 minutes I make him out to be a complete genius."
Once they've been briefed on why the principles work for Beckham, audience members have the chance to try and replicate the free kick.
Connecting science to everyday life, Soper says, is what makes his work particularly rewarding. "I just love inspiring people, young and old, about science, explaining how and why things around us happen as they do."
Bending It Like Beckham will take place tomorrow at the Institute of Technology in Tralee, Co Kerry, and Thursday at Limerick Institute of Technology.
Details can be found at www.scienceweek.ie