Architect Frank Gehry might have applauded the elephant parade that marched by the Ray and Maria Stata Center for Computer, Information and Intelligence Sciences at MIT earlier this month. After all, Gehry's vision for Stata was to provide open spaces that nourish spontaneous interaction. The elephants themselves were on beat. They were en route to work, performing with the Ringling Brothers-Barnum and Bailey Circus in Boston's Fleet Center. The circus train, on which 10 elephants and 30 horses travel along with 200 performers and crew members, spent the week parked on the railroad tracks behind Simmons Hall and the West Garage. According to Ringling Brothers trainmaster Tim Holan, technology has changed circus life and the look of circus trains. "We have a self-contained city here, with people from 16 different nations. Today, the buzz on board is all about who's got the best cell phone, the best computer. And the trains look like they have ears -- it's the satellite dishes, pointing every which way, to pick up news from home." Photo / Donna Coveney

A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on October 20, 2004 (download PDF).