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Friday, April 28, 2023

A to Z – 2023 – X is for the EXploratorium where you will see Buckyball

I am glad that this installation is located outside of the EXploratorium since X is usually one of the hardest letters to find in the A to Z Challenge.

Buckyball is another one of Leo Villareal’s designs. You may remember him from the Point Cloud post. It was made part of the Illuminate SF project in 2012. The giant ball was inspired by the shape first explored by futurist and inventor, Buckminster Fuller. Hence the name “Buckyball.” There are 4,500 LED lights arranged in a series of pentagons and hexagons. I didn’t get a daytime photo but it was pretty impressive at night. You can see by the clock it was about 7:55 PM.

Located on the Embarcadero, it is easy to find and there was a space available for me to pull over and get this short video. You can hear the busy street sounds in the background. The light sequences are driven by chance and there are more than 16 million distinct colors that create random compositions.

I probably could have stayed a little longer but this was one of the first trips I took on my light finding expedition and I wanted to make sure I could get to every stop on my list.

Best Viewing: The Plaza at Pier 15 in front of the Exploratorium. On Thursday nights the Exploratorium opens from 6 to 10 PM for adults only. That might be a great date night!

We only have 2 more letters to go folks. I am both relieved and a little sad to be coming to the end of the alphabet. See you tomorrow with Y.



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4 comments:

  1. Hi, Janet!

    Happy "X" day, dear friend!

    I'm X-tra X-cited to see today's entry in your A to Z! I remember you taking us to the Embarcadero before, where now stands Buckyball, a dazzling piece of art sculpture. After reading your text, I clicked over to the official description and in amazement read more about the exhibit. Resembling a soccer ball belonging to The Jolly Green Giant, the 25-foot illuminated installation contains various geometric shapes including spheres, pentagons and hexagons and is capable of displaying millions of shades of color in a glowing effect. The dome's appearance is ever changing, the sequence random, driven purely by chance. I love that aspect of it. Also fascinating to me is that fact that Buckyball was designed to resemble a form of the same name discovered in a carbon molecule. I wish I were there to examine the enigmatic object from every angle!

    Thanks for another very worthwhile post in the series, dear friend Janet. I'll be back to see you tomorrow for "Y" day. I agree, it will be a bittersweet experience for you, for me, and for all your readers as this year's A to Z draws to a close.

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    1. Hi there my friend! It was quite an experience to see it up close. If I had had someone with me, I would have had them stand by it so you could see just how big it was. Jolly Green Giant for sure! Have a great rest of your day dear Shady!

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  2. Oh, a giant lighted Buckyball - how fun! And I beck Buckminster Fuller would approve as well.

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    1. I think he would too. I had never heard of him before.

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