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Rolling Ball Sculpture
A rolling ball sculpture (sometimes referred to as a marble run, ball run, gravitram, ''kugelbahn'' (German: 'ball track'), or rolling ball machine) is a form of kinetic art – an art form that contains moving pieces – that specifically involves one or more rolling balls. A version where marbles compete in a race to win is called a marble race. Toys People make toys out of rolling ball sculptures. World records The tallest rolling ball sculpture in the world, at tall, is named the ''Energy Machine'', and located in the Hong Kong Science Museum in Hong Kong. According to Guinness World Records, the longest marble run is 2,858.9 meters long and was completed in Switzerland in September 2017. See also *George Rhoads *Rube Goldberg machine * Bruce Gray (sculptor) * Perplexus * Rolling ball clock *Jelle's Marble Runs Jelle's Marble Runs is a YouTube channel based in the Netherlands centered on marble (toy), marbles, marble runs and marble races. It is run by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kinetic Art
Kinetic art is art from any medium that contains movement perceivable by the viewer or that depends on motion for its effects. Canvas paintings that extend the viewer's perspective of the artwork and incorporate multidimensional movement are the earliest examples of kinetic art. More pertinently speaking, kinetic art is a term that today most often refers to three-dimensional sculptures and figures such as mobiles that move naturally or are machine operated (see e.g. videos on this page of works of George Rickey and Uli Aschenborn). The moving parts are generally powered by wind, a motor or the observer. Kinetic art encompasses a wide variety of overlapping techniques and styles. There is also a portion of kinetic art that includes virtual movement, or rather movement perceived from only certain angles or sections of the work. This term also clashes frequently with the term "apparent movement", which many people use when referring to an artwork whose movement is created b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marble (toy)
A marble is a small spherical object often made from glass, clay, steel, plastic, or agate. These toys can be used for a variety of games called marbles, as well being placed in Rolling ball sculpture, marble runs or races, or created as a form of art. They are often Collecting, collected, both for nostalgia and for their aesthetic colors. Sizes may vary, but usually range from about in diameter. In the north of England the game and objects are called "taws", with larger taws being called "bottle washers", named after the use of a marble in Codd-neck bottles, which were often collected for play. Games History In the early twentieth century, small balls of stone from about 2500 BCE, identified by archaeologists as marbles, were found by excavation near Mohenjo-daro, in a site associated with the Indus Valley civilization. In modern India the game is called "kanche". Marbles are often mentioned in Roman literature, as in Ovid's poem "Nux" (which mentions playing the game with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Watching The Machine
Watching may refer to: Perception * Looking, the act of intentionally focusing visual perception on someone or something * Observation, active acquisition of information * Surveillance, monitoring of behavior, activities, or information * Birdwatching, a hobby in which people observe birds Media * ''Watching'' (TV series), a British television show broadcast from 1987 to 1993 * "Watching" (song), a 1983 Thompson Twins song from the album, ''Quick Step & Side Kick'' * "Watching", a song on the 2016 Ty Dolla Sign mixtape, '' Campaign'' * ''Harlan Ellison's Watching'', a 1989 compilation of essays and film reviews by Harlan Ellison for ''Cinema'' magazine See also * "Watchin'", a 1998 single by dance band Freemasons * Watch (other) A watch is a timepiece that is made to be worn on a person. Watch may also refer to: Vocabulary *Watch, an English noun referring to those who engaged in watchkeeping or watchstanding ** ''Vigla'' (tagma), a Byzantine regiment often ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hong Kong Science Museum
The Hong Kong Science Museum is a public science museum in Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon, Hong Kong, located next to the Hong Kong Museum of History. History The Hong Kong Science Museum was first conceived by the Urban Council in 1976. The council hired American firm E. Verner Johnson and Associates in 1984 to help plan the museum. Three more design firms were later engaged to work on the exhibits: West Office Design, Toshihiko Sakow Associates, and Levy Design. In 1986, the council hired Hong Kong architecture firm Palmer and Turner to design the museum. It was built by Leighton Contractors (Asia) Limited. Construction began in March 1988 and was completed in November 1990. The museum cost HK$340 million. It was officially opened by Governor David Wilson and Urban Council Chairman H.M.G. Forsgate on 18 April 1991. In 2000, the Urban Council was disbanded, and management of the museum became the responsibility of the newly formed Leisure and Cultural Services Department. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the world. Hong Kong was established as a colony of the British Empire after the Qing dynasty ceded Hong Kong Island in 1841–1842 as a consequence of losing the First Opium War. The colony expanded to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and was further extended when the United Kingdom obtained a 99-year lease of the New Territories in 1898. Hong Kong was occupied by Japan from 1941 to 1945 during World War II. The territory was handed over from the United Kingdom to China in 1997. Hong Kong maintains separate governing and economic systems from that of mainland China under the principle of one country, two systems. Originally a sparsely populated area of farming and fishing villages,. the territory is now one of the world's most signific ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listing world records both of human achievements and the extremes of the natural world. Sir Hugh Beaver created the concept, and twin brothers Norris and Ross McWhirter co-founded the book in London in August 1955. The first edition topped the bestseller list in the United Kingdom by Christmas 1955. The following year the book was launched internationally, and as of the 2025 edition, it is now in its 70th year of publication, published in 100 countries and 40 languages, and maintains over 53,000 records in its database. The international franchise has extended beyond print to include television series and museums. The popularity of the franchise has resulted in ''Guinness World Records'' becoming the primary international source for cata ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Rhoads
George Rhoads (January 27, 1926 – July 9, 2021) was a contemporary American painting, painter, sculpture, sculptor and origami master. He was best known for his whimsical Rolling ball sculpture, audiokinetic sculptures in airports, science museums, shopping malls, children's hospitals, and other public places throughout the world. Early life Rhoads was born in Evanston, Illinois, the oldest of four children. His father, Paul S. Rhoads, was a physician and professor of internal medicine at Northwestern University. His mother, Hester Chapin Rhoads, was trained as an interior decorator. Rhoads attended the University of Chicago with the goal of studying physics and mathematics. After earning enough credits to complete his associate degree, he began taking design and drawing classes at the Art Institute in Chicago. Two years, later he left Chicago and moved to New York City to become a painter. His work focused on portraits and impressionistic cityscapes, but he was not criticall ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rube Goldberg Machine
A Rube Goldberg machine, named after American cartoonist Rube Goldberg, is a chain reaction–type machine or contraption intentionally designed to perform a simple task in a comically overcomplicated way. Usually, these machines consist of a series of simple unrelated devices; the action of each triggers the initiation of the next, eventually resulting in achieving a stated goal. The design of such a "machine" is often presented on paper and would be impossible to implement in actuality. More recently, such machines have been fully constructed for entertainment (for example, a breakfast scene in '' Pee-wee's Big Adventure'') and in Rube Goldberg competitions. Origin The expression is named after the American cartoonist Rube Goldberg, whose cartoons often depicted devices that performed simple tasks in indirect convoluted ways. The cartoon above is Goldberg's ''Professor Butts and the Self-Operating Napkin'', which was later reprinted in a few book collections, including th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bruce Gray (sculptor)
Bruce Gray (born November 14, 1956 Orange, New Jersey, died June 8, 2019 Los Angeles, California) was an artist residing in Los Angeles. His work includes kinetic art such as rolling ball machines, mobiles, stabiles, and suspended magnetic sculptures. He also creates found objects sculptures such as a lifesize motorcycle sculpture constructed from train parts, and giant objects such as a large aluminum wedge of Swiss cheese and giant high heel shoes. Gray's work has been displayed at many museums, art galleries, and is part of over 1200 corporate and private art collections. His work has appeared in numerous films and television shows including ''Charmed ''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadc ...'', ''Austin Powers (film series), Austin Powers'', ''Meet the Fockers'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Perplexus
Perplexus, originally released as Superplexus, is a 3-D ball-in-a-maze puzzle or labyrinth game enclosed in a transparent plastic sphere. By twisting and turning it, players try to maneuver a small steel ball through a complex maze along narrow plastic tracks. The maze has many steps (varying across puzzles). The number of steps ranges from 30 in the Perplexus Twist to 225 in the Perplexus 3x3 Rubik's cube Hybrid. Some levels drop the ball into a cup or a small rim to utilize its 3-D nature. Players must complete obstacles varying in difficulty to reach the end. Perplexus LLC is the manufacturer and a wholly owned subsidiary of Spin_Master, Spin Master Ltd (since 2017). History Perplexus was co-invented by college professor Michael McGinnis and toy inventors Brian Clemens and Dan Klitsner of San Francisco-based KID Group—known for inventing Bop It, HyperDash, and other game titles. McGinnis first drew pictures for 3-D labyrinths in the late 1970s. In 1999, he showed drawings ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rolling Ball Clock
A rolling ball clock is a clock which displays time by means of balls and rails. History The rolling ball clock was invented by Harley Mayenschein in the 1970s. He patented the design and founded Idle Tyme Corporation in 1978, which manufactured these clocks from solid hardwoods. Later, a license on the patent was sold to Arrow Handicraft. In the 1970s and early 1980s, Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ... also made them under license. The following excerpts from a letter written by Patrice Gunville, the daughter of Harley Mayenschein, give some detail of the history of the clock:For an even more detailed history of the clock and its inventor, visit the clock's new home page at http://www.idle-tyme.com These clocks are once again being produced in a small shop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
