The Topic:  Circus

Easier - The circus is a traveling show put on by clowns, acrobats, and trained animals. A circus often travels from city to city to perform inside a big tent.

 

Harder - The word circus comes from a Latin word for circle or oval. Today's circus's are live events held in either tents or an arena. The circus features daring and graceful acts by a cast of acrobats, aerial artists, animal trainers, and other performers. Trained animals are also an important part of most circuses. Clowns in funny makeup and zany outfits provide comedy for the audience. The ringmaster and the circus band add to the overall color and excitement of the circus.

 

Circus World Museum (State Historical Society of Wisconsin) 

http://www.circusworldmuseum.com/

This is the official website of a museum that collects, preserves, and interprets archival material and artifacts relating to the history of the American circus.

 

The Great Circus Parade 

http://ww.circwusparade.com/index.htm

Here you can learn the history of circus parades that have always led the crowds to the showgrounds.

 

International Clown Hall of Fame

http://clownmuseum.org

This site is dedicated to the preservation and advancement of clown art. It pays tribute to outstanding clowns performers, and maintains a national archive of clown artifacts and history.

 

Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus 

http://www.ringling.com/

Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages; Feld Entertainment is proud to present America's living national treasure, the online edition of the greatest show on earth®!

 

Circus Lingo 

http://anduin.eldar.org/~ben/funny/html/254.html

Here is a glossary of some of the more common jargon of the circus world.

Another Circus Lingo site: http://winslo.state.oh.us/services/LPD/02lingo.html

 

Cirque du Soleil Unoffical Site!

http://www.cc.utah.edu/~gem16460/cirquedusoleil/frontpage.html

This is the website of the performance troup Cirque du Soleil.

 

Circus Resources 

http://middleweb.com/circuslnks.html

This links-site connects to resources about the history and culture of the circus!

 

Ecole Nationale De Cirque 

http://www.enc.qc.ca/ta-plan.html

This is a private educational institution whose mission is to train the next generation of circus artists. It is the only professional private school in circus arts in North America.

 

Juggling Information Page

http://www.juggling.org/

Find a bunch of information on juggling at this site.

 

Vete's Juggling Page! 

http://hem1.passagen.se/vete/english.html

This website is about all the things that make life worth juggling.

 

Website for Teachers

The Circus (Courier-Journal Newspapers in Education) 

http://www.courier-journal.com/education/lessonplans/970728circus.html

Here is a brief lesson plan for learning about the circus.

advance man	'big top'	sideshow	calliope	midway	side show
rigging	circus band	trouper	circus	parade	steam calliope
ringmaster	showground	juggler	clown	funambulism	roustabout
rigger	tightrope walker	high wire	trapeze	lion tamer	auguste clown
acrobat	performer	aerial act	ring	spectacle	winter quarters
long mount	trainer	flyer	liberty horse	three-ring circus	menagerie