This interactive rolling ball sculpture was built for a Steampunk Festival I attended many years ago. Instead of using a motorized lift, this one is completely human powered: grab the balls from the bottom, place them back at the top, and watch them go. Two different paths to choose from, one starting on the left and one starting on the right. 

It turned out to be a big hit with the kids—and more than a few adults. The youngest kids were especially fun to watch. They didn't need any instructions or explanation. Give them a handful of balls and a bunch of tracks and they figured out pretty quickly what to do.

The open design lets you choose where to place each ball and then follow it as gravity takes over. Different starting points send the balls through different tracks and elements before they eventually reach the bottom, ready to be picked up and sent through again.

One of the things I enjoyed most was watching little kids discover what they could do through play. Instead of standing behind a barrier looking at a piece of kinetic art, they could put their hands on it, experiment with the tracks, try different balls and immediately see what happened.

Pick up a ball. Find an interesting place to put it. Let gravity do the rest.

Painted mild steel, TIG welded