Naperville science lesson more than just clowning around

As a clown for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Dustin Portillo wants kids laughing every 30 seconds during his routines.

And he wants them learning, too.

Along with three other clowns decked out in neon overalls, purple wigs and, yes, red noses, Portillo, 25, spent part of his morning Thursday explaining principles of gravity to kids at the DuPage Children’s Museum in Naperville.

“This is just a way to educate and make kids smile,” Portillo said.

The clowns juggled balls, spun yo-yos and balanced plates to demonstrate centers of gravity in an “all-improv” show.

“It’s kind of second nature,” said Portillo, who poaches slapstick comedy for inspiration.

Emma Johnson of Joliet wanted her children to experience the circus she remembered so fondly as a kid. Her 5-year-old daughter was a little nervous of the guys with the funny noses.

“She is just concerned they don’t throw any pies in her face,” she said.

Although there were no pies, there was plenty of audience participation. Clowns gave a helping hand to a dad swaying on a unicycle in one routine.

“Can someone grab the bicycle helmet?” Portillo, the boss clown, said.

Musa Hassan, 6, raised his eager hand to participate in a trick that had him balancing a feather in his hand and locating his center of gravity. Afterward, he planned to go home and do some clown tricks of his own.

“It was kind of hard,” Musa said. “I’m going to balance a stick.”

Event organizers said families were lining up before 8:30 a.m. to watch the performers go through their paces for the first time at the museum.

But Portillo was there to do more than just clown around.

“People just feel you slap on some makeup, and you’re a clown,” he said.

Instead, he’s traveling, training and entertaining in 360-degree routines for “Fully Charged,” the circus’ newest show, to help his audience “escape from the norm.”

“It’s a very important job,” he said.