A Storied Path

The Spertus Institute
Chicago, IL 2009

This sculpture uses the path of the rolling ball to randomly display words that become part of a story.  When the lever is pulled, a single ball is released onto the track where it encounters five different obstacles.  At each obstacle, the ball lands in a basket and triggers the display of a single, random word.  At the end of the ball’s journey, the five words are printed on a piece of paper to be used to create a short story related to the theme.    This encourages creative thought and reinforces the overall theme related to the Spertus Institute.

• A custom glass display case wrapped around a structural column of the building.
  
• 1-3/8” ball diameter in multiple colors.
  
• Two ball lifts: a Chain lift and a Belt lift.  
  
• A single motor  to drive both lifts with an overhead drive-train.
  
• Five ball interactions, where the ball passes through a track feature and lands in a basket, triggering a LED display to show a word.
  
• A single lever interaction used to initiate the ball’s entry into the path.
• A small printer to provide a print-out of the five random words.

A Storied Path uses the rolling balls to trigger the display of random words to eventually be printed out and used to write a short story.

A Storied Path wraps around a structural column in a kids play-area of the Spertus Institute.

Five LED displays show random words when balls fall into the baskets mounted above. The words are later printed out and used to write a story.

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