A small yet important interactive I recently built was for Rotary International. Along with my friends Peter Hyde and Mark Catton, we designed and built a bucket mechanism which demonstrated the weight of water many villagers must carry from streams to their homes around the world in order to have fresh water. The goal is to bring awareness and help find solutions to create easier access to water. While lifting a weighted bucket seems like a simple demonstration, safety and reliability are always a concern with an interactive. So, these buckets were designed with an inner shaft mechanism which guided the lift motion and set the resistance, as well as returned them to their resting position slowly if the visitor “drops the bucket”. They were very successful for their preliminary exhibit, and should continue to bring awareness to a many people as they are exhibited around the country.
There are videos of both the buckets being used at the show and the testing cycle of the interactive in our studio available below.