Learn with us online while the Exploratorium is temporarily closed. You can help us reopen—donate today.
Norman Tuck
Norman Tuck is a kinetic sculptor based in San Francisco. A retrospective exhibition of his work, Art Machines, has traveled to seven museums within the United States and Europe.
Lariat Chain
This artwork by Norman Tuck demonstrates that a very simple system—a metal chain hanging from a motor-driven bicycle wheel—can generate complex behaviors.
Where: Gallery 2: Tinkering
Oscylinderscope
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).
A Pendulum Clock
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.
Where: This exhibit is not currently on view.
Uroborus: 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 2: Tinkering
Your Turn Counts
From simple wooden gears to metal flip type, glow discharge tubes, and iPads, Your Turn Counts actually counts the turns of a handle using increasingly modern technology as the orders of magnitude grow. A playful experiment in participation and patience.
Where: Gallery 2: Tinkering
