Visitors are invited to climb the giant net and explore principles of a tensile structure. As visitors climb around this exhibit, they can feel how the structure responds to their weight. The Climbing Space Net demonstrates the use of force vectors, as force is spread out over the entire structure. The triangular configurations of the rope are strategically placed to give the net its structural integrity. A swing-like seat, attached to a small windmill, moves up and down when the wind blows.
Participants can also turn the windmill with their own weight by simply sitting in the seat.
Participants provide energy which turns propeller blades, transferring their energy into angular momentum in the column of water. The whirlpool shows the vortex at the top and how it becomes progressively slender on the bottom. This exhibit helps the public understand the phenomena of whirlpools and tornadoes. When redirected sunlight hits a photocell on the sculpture, the solar energy is converted to electrical energy that triggers propellers, whirligigs and a fog machine. The Science Playground is open April 1 - November 30, weather permitting.