Did you get the chance to experiment with carnival games and attractions at our 37th Birthday Celebration on August 13?  Check out pictures here!

Below, you'll find the science behind the games and attractions we featured that night.  Plus, if you'd still like to find out more scientific facts about carnival games, click here to visit the PBS Kids site dedicated to carnival science.

 The Science of...

Basketball Pop-A-Shot

When playing basketball pop-a-shot, it seems like an easy challenge to just score a basket.  I mean, come on, you can do it on a regular basketball court!  Why not this one? 

Well, the game is not as easy as it looks.  On a regular basketball court, the hoop is twice the size of the basketball.  On the carnival basketball game, the rim may be just barely larger than the basketball or even an oval shape.  A basketball hoop is regularly 10 feet off the ground, however, in a carnival game, it may be even higher.  Still think you have a chance? 

Duck Pond

The duck pond game!  Now here's a game that everyone can win at, right? 

Well, that is not necessarily the case.  Your chances of winning a prize at this are much higher, though they are still chances.  This game focuses on the mathematical concept known as probability.  This refers to the likelihood of a number to occur.  It is written as a ratio where the number of occurrences of a number is divided by the total number of occurrences of that same number.  The higher the variety of numbers, the less likely it will fall into the prize-winning category. 

So the next time you go to reach for that very lucky duck, just remember: your probability of winning may not be very high.

Milk Bottle Throw

When playing at home, everyone used to make towers out of blocks.  So when walking down the many isles of a carnival, you notice the milk bottle toss.  Now here's a game you know how to play!  You throw the first ball and miss entirely.  That's ok, try it again.  The second ball hits the top bottle.  Nothing happens.  Finally the last ball hits the middle, but still nothing happens.  Why not?

The structure set up by the milk bottles creates a pyramid shape, which means that all of the bottles on the top require the support of the bottom bottles.  This means that when a ball hits the top bottles, nothing happens.  However, when the force of the ball impacts the bottom bottles and causes them to move, it also causes the top bottles to fall, due to the force of gravity pulling them down.  Next time you try the milk bottle toss, remember: the bottom is better!

Jurassic Toss

The Jurassic Toss game would have been a very difficult game in the old days of Carnivals.  Looking seemingly simple, this game would have made even the most accurate of players cry.  The holes in which the balls need to go are smaller than you think, making it harder to get the ball into them.  The science needed to perform this game with success includes accuracy, speed, and gravity.

Side Show Slime

In order to examine the science behind Side Show Slime, we must first investigate what a Side Show was.  During the early 1900s Carnivals and Amusement parks were in their heyday.  In an attempt to escape the factories and jobs that kept them busy all week, people flocked to Carnivals and Parks ready to unwind and have a little fun.  Side Shows were always a big part of that environment.  The Side Shows were always housed inside tent and you always had to pay to play.  Someone was always in front of the tent yelling, ”Step right up folks, and see the bearded lady!”  Promising a peak at the extraordinary these Barkers sold their product as nothing the world has ever seen.

These side shows were indeed extraordinary, however science could explain them.  For instance the bearded lady could simply have been a man in a dress or it could have been a woman with a hormonal unbalance making her facial hair grow more than the normal person.

Moon Walk

The Moon Walk offers a chance to feel what it would be like to walk on the moon.  In space there is no gravity and the Moon Walk allows the person to experience weightlessness.

Fish Bowl Toss

The Fish Bowl Toss is a great example of a game of chance.  The ping pong balls are used specifically because they are so light and can bounce off the fish bowls with ease making it harder to get the ball into the bowl.

Gone Fishing

With Gone Fishing the old time carnivals would have raked in the money.  The problem with this game is that you can not see what the prizes are before you pay.  The game promises a guaranteed prize by throwing your fishing pole over the side of the wall where a prize will be attached; however, you have no way of knowing if the prize is worth the price.

Alien Invasion

The trick to Alien Invasion is spatial reasoning and projection of the Frisbee.  This game is a game where they may use an optical illusion or physical relationship to make it harder to judge the games difficulty.