Norman Tuck
Lariat Chain consists of a motor-driven bicycle-wheel rim mounted approximately 10 feet above the floor on a tripod with a continuous loop of light chain that fits over the rim. As the wheel turns, the chain runs with it. Left undisturbed, the chain loop revolves in a smooth and flowing manner. By tapping or touching the chain, beautiful standing waves and serpentine convolutions can be created along its circuitous flow.
Where: Gallery 2 Tinkering
Norman Tuck
A piece consisting of a cylinder and guitar strings, that when plucked, demonstrate how strings behave when they vibrate to produce sound. Both the tension and the length of a string effect the frequency of vibration (pitch of the sound). Shorter or tighter strings vibrate faster to make higher tones and vice a versa, while the horizontal distance between the peaks and valleys of each wave reflects the loudness of the sound.
Where: Gallery 2 Tinkering
Norman Tuck, 2013
From simple wooden gears to metal flip type, glow discharge tubes, and iPads, Your Turn Counts actually counts the turns of a handle in increasingly modern technology as the orders of magnitude grow. A playful experiment in participation and patience.
Where: Gallery 2 Tinkering
Norman Tuck
This exhibit demonstrates the principles by which a motor functions. Closing a switch permits electricity to flow through the coils of wire wound around the motor shaft, called an armature. Holding a magnet around the coil causes the motor to turn. All motors operate for the same basic reason: When electricity flows through a wire and a magnet is nearby, the magnet exerts a force on the wire. Without either the magnet or the electricity, there is no "push" to make the motor turn. Turning the magnet over--reversing its magnetic field--reverses the "push" and causes an opposite rotation.
Where: Gallery 2 Tinkering
Norman Tuck
A snake chasing its tail. In this device, a motor turns a wooden snake tail. When the tail pushes the snake head, it changes the connections and the motor changes direction.
Where: Gallery 1 Human Phenomenon
Norman Tuck
At first glance, the giant see-through-erector-set-like structure seems to be a realization of one of Leonardo da Vinci's mechanical inventions. Totally open and exposed, it is constructed of steel, ropes, bicycle chains and a bowling ball , and stands 24 feet tall. The clock has gear-like teeth protruding from it, marking off the sixty minutes of the hour, as well as a large and a small hand. It is powered by the weight of a large metal basket filled with artifacts which in turn acts on the crown wheel: the key to the clock's turning.
