Lied exhibit is beholden to a motion

Friday, June 28, 2002 | 9:33 a.m.

What: "Bodies in Motion: The Physics of Human Movement."

When: Through Aug. 31.

Where: Lied Discovery Children's Museum, 833 Las Vegas Blvd. North.

Admission: $6; $5 for seniors, military and children under 17; under 1 free.

Information: (702) 382-3445.

Try explaining the laws of physics to children and it's likely their eyes will glaze over.

Turn physics into an experimental playground and you may get the message across more poignantly.

This is the idea behind the new interactive exhibit at at the Lied Discovery Children's Museum on Las Vegas Boulevard North.

"Bodies in Motion: The Physics of Human Movement" (through Aug. 31) invites visitors to spin wheels, twirl on turntables and jump as high as they can -- all in the name of physics.

"For any age, children or adults, physics is a very difficult topic," Wendy Adams, spokeswoman at the museum, said. "Instead of just trying to communicate these things with the children academically, we're applying them hands-on."

The exhibit tackles such weighty issues as inertia, momentum, mass and the center of gravity by demonstrating the abstract concepts through colorful displays and body manipulation.

A contraption that puts two people in movable chairs facing each other allows children to explore Newton's third law of motion.

A jumping display demonstrates the maximum force used against a platform when a person pushes against it when jumping, and demonstrates which starting position produces the highest jump.

A pirouette turntable provides visitors the opportunity to experience the speed in which an object spins on its axis, and how that speed is controlled by how far the body's mass is from the spin axis. For example, while spinning, a person can extend his leg away from his body to slow the spinning speed, and vice versa.

"That's been extremely popular," Adams said, referring to the pirouette turntable that sheds light on body manipulations used by figure skaters and dancers.

Other exhibits demonstrate the laws of friction, dance, muscle movement and the mechanics of human joints.

By incorporating dance in the exhibit, representatives are hoping to gain the attention of young girls who generally lag behind boys in science.

"Statistics show that girls have a more difficult time understanding and applying physics," Adams said. "We're tackling that barrier by trying to break it down to the principles of dance."