By MOLLY DAVIDSON / Staff Writer

HOOVER—The secret to magic is part illusion and part presentation. On Nov. 18, Spain Park High School students learned the keys to performing a variety of magic tricks during a special program at the library.

Master illusionist Matt Adams led the 14 students through several tricks, teaching them to use misdirection, magnetic fields and performance skills to create magic.

“I think the most important part of magic is not the secret, it’s the presentation,” Adams said. “Presentation is everything.”

During the nearly one-hour class, students made coins disappear, willed a ball on a string to defy gravity, made a ball materialize under plastic cups and more. Several students also got to try their hands at the theatrics of magic, performing the newly learned tricks in front of the class.

“My goal when I come in to teach magic… is to whet the appetite. You want the kids to walk away being able to do (tricks),” Adams said, noting his interest in magic started at a young age. “I started like these guys, when I was a kid. I was fascinated by how tricks worked, it was a puzzle to me.”

The Nov. 18 program was just one in a series of special classes the Spain Park library is offering students each month through April.

“We’re looking for programs that are interesting, fun and educational,” Spain Park Librarian Dr. Casey Middlebrooks said.

The library hosted a sushi making class on Oct. 7, and more programs are planned throughout the year, including self-defense, raptors, painting, yoga and dance. Each of the classes will be led by local experts and teachers.

So far, the classes have been popular among the student body, Middlebrooks said, noting more than 50 students signed up for the 14-slot magic class.

“They want more (programs)!” Middlebrooks said.