Sausalito, CA (PRWEB) September 11, 2014

What do a basket, a ball, and a baseball bat all have in common? Each one has a circle inside! Circles are extremely familiar because they are simply everywhere, but why? The solution to the mystery can be found by exploring how they are made, how useful they are, and where they are found all around the world.

So simple, and yet so incredibly powerful, the circle is found in nature and used in many ways by people throughout time and across cultures. In Secrets of Circles, sixteen fascinating original exhibits place visitors at the center of experiences rich with the math, science, engineering, and beauty of circles. The hands-on exhibit, created by Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose, will open to the public at the Bay Area Discovery Museum on Saturday, September 27, 2014.

Secrets of Circles was designed to intrigue a wide range of ages, as well as visitors from different backgrounds. Signage is tri-lingual, (English, Spanish, and Vietnamese) and spaces are wheelchair accessible. The rich colors, beautiful bamboo plywood, eco-friendly building materials, and cultural and historical artifacts within the exhibit represent people and circles from around the world and over time.

“The Museum is committed to providing high-quality early math learning opportunities,” notes Karyn Flynn, Museum Executive Director and CEO. “Early math experiences are critical to children’s development and early math skills are key indicators of later academic success. Secret of Circles is an engaging exhibition that builds early geometry skills through hands-on activities. The exhibition provides opportunities to explore circles in the real world and make discoveries about this intriguing shape.”

Whether you are drawing a perfect glow-in-the-dark circle at the Compass Table or building your own gear contraptions in Gear UP!, children and adults alike are uncovering the properties of a simple shape with powerful applications.

Visitors to Secrets of Circles can:

    Draw a perfect circle using mathematical techniques long employed by artists and engineers.
    Place reflective shapes on a large turntable and set it spinning in Spin Pictures.
    Build your own gear contraptions in Gear UP! and put those circles to work turning the hands of a clock, a music box ballerina and a drill.
    See what happens with wheels that aren’t round, or wheels that don’t have an axle in the center, with the unusual cars in Bumpy Ride.
    Find out why builders have long used circles and parts of circles for their strength and efficiency by experimenting with one of the most fascinating: the arch bridge.

Visit Secrets of Circles and your world will suddenly be transformed into an intriguing puzzle for your investigation. After all, circles are everywhere and each circle has a secret for you to uncover. The special exhibition will close January 4, 2015.






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