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The geometry of moving

A photo essay about angles, arcs, and other shapes created when people and things are in motion.

Every movement—leaping, swimming, rolling down a hill—has a geometry to it.

If you follow one part of a moving body, such as a dancer’s forearm, it traces out a straight line, a curve, or an angle.

Moving machines make geometry too—everything from a speeding locomotive…

…to a spinning ride at a carnival.

Creating a mental picture of a space will help you figure out how to navigate through it.

When making a mental plan for a movement, it helps to copy someone else, and to imagine your body moving in the same way.

And even if you can’t see what’s around you, your brain can help you envision the space, and how to move within it.


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see the exhibits
Exhibits that highlight the angles, curves, and other shapes created when people and things are in motion.

Also check out:

Check out our Exploratorium Geometry
image pool on Flickr,
and contribute
your own photos.



National Science Foundation Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

