Science and circus arts for the whole family!
Suggested for children ages 6 and up, and all children must be accompanied by a caregiver.
In this year's A Novel Idea Youth Edition, The Queen of Ocean Parkway, Katya comes from a line of circus performers, many of whom have mysteriously disappeared. The secret of their disappearance may very well be a mystery of physics. This Science Circus combines both physics and circus arts using a rare blend of science, comedy and daring acts. Children learn surprising things about gravity (through bowling ball juggling), gyroscopic stability (through glass bowl spinning), centripetal force (with cowboy lariats), center of balance (with a tall unicycle) and inertia (with the old tablecloth pull). Add the irresistible force of levity and that’s what the Science Circus is all about!
About Rhys Thomas: Growing up in rural Oregon, Rhys learned to juggle in high school to impress a girl and then lost the girl and juggled to forget. He went to the University of Oregon and claims to have an M.F.A. (Master of Frivolous Arts). Paying off his college loans as a rain-soaked street performer, Rhys created his Science Circus to get an indoor gig at Seattle’s Pacific Science Center. This led to museums in 7 countries and hundreds of school shows. Rhys also created his “tour de farce” of circus tricks called JuggleMania to get onto cruise ships and into theaters and international festivals in 30 countries. Highly respected in the juggling world, Rhys is a recipient of the Ben Linder Memorial Award for Inspiration, has twice been profiled in Juggle magazine, and appears on several DVD’s including The Jugglers That Jugglers Watch. Rhys was the first juggler awarded an Oregon Arts Fellowship.
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The 2025 Novel Idea Youth Edition, The Queen of Ocean Parkway, tells the story of eleven-year-old Roya, the superintendent’s kid of a regal Brooklyn apartment building. An aspiring reporter, she knows just about everything about the building’s residents. It’s a good distraction from the problems in her own life. But when Katya Petrov, one of her favorite tenants, goes missing, it’s up to Roya and a new friend to make her own headlines as she searches for Katya and attempts to break the Petrov curse once and for all.
Sarvenaz Tash was born in Tehran, Iran, grew up on Long Island, and graduated with a BFA in Film and Television from NYU. She is the author of eight novels (and counting) for kids, young adults, and adults including The Geek's Guide to Unrequited Love, A Whole Song and Dance, and The Queen of Ocean Parkway. Though her books run the gamut of genres and age groups, they’re tied together by her strong voice and affinity for joyful, diverse, humorous stories with heart.
Learn more about A Novel Idea here.
Questions? Contact elsah@deschuteslibrary.org, 541-312-1062
AGE GROUP: | Middle School Age | Elementary School Age | Baby | All Ages | Adult |
EVENT TYPE: | Children's Program |
The two-story, 38,855-square-foot library opened in 1998 and features exposed beams and high ceilings, complemented with eastward-facing windows, looking over Bend’s civic square.
