Earthworks - Bozeman, MT
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T0SHEA
N 45° 39.548 W 111° 02.765
12T E 496409 N 5056176
In the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, this is an interesting rolling ball machine to watch, as there is a lot going on.
Waymark Code: WMW1M3
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 06/27/2017
Views: 0
Apparently we didn't watch long enough, for this sculpture is intended to illustrate recurring cycles in geological and biological history, a subtlety we didn't catch until reading the accompanying sign. It is located in the "Time Room" of the museum, not far past the entrance. Also in the room is another interesting machine which, when a crank is turned, cycles through the history of life on earth.
The rolling ball machine, a large cube of ball tracks and other machinery, is enclosed in a Plexiglas cocoon to protect it from prying fingers. Entitled "Earthworks", the machine attempts to illustrate various recurring cycles in the earth, such as food and water cycles and the recycling of rock in the earth's crust. The rolling balls represent packets of energy within the system. Altogether, it is an interesting, if somewhat difficult, process to follow within the machine as the processes act independently in their realization.
