In Indiana, people used to have different times on their clocks depending on where they lived. But since 2006, everyone in Indiana has changed their clocks at the same time for Daylight Saving Time. That means in the spring, they set their clocks one hour ahead, and in the fall, they set them one hour back. This helps everyone in Indiana have the same time, making things like business and planning easier.
As we walked through the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis the day before the big time change, my husband and I wondered how the time change takes place on the giant water clock in the atrium. For our family, the Children’s Museum water clock is what pops into our head as we talk about clocks and time, it’s the icon that comes to mind when we think of the museum, and it’s one of our two meeting places within the museum.
The Water Clock at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, also known as The Giant Water Clock, was created by French scientist and artist Bernard Gitton in 1988. This modern water clock is situated in the Sunburst Atrium, nestled near the Grand Staircase.
Standing approximately 30 feet tall, the clock is composed of more than 40 pieces of glass and 100 pieces of metal, with the lights on the clock emitting a bright green hue and the water dyed blue. This combination of glass, steel, and a solution of deionized water, methyl alcohol, and coloring dye makes for a visually striking timepiece. The clock’s functionality is based on a series of subsystems including an oscillator (pendulum), a frequency divider, a minute counter (minute discs), and an hour counter (hour balls), demonstrating an intricate mechanism of water flow and gravity to mark time.
There are special programs daily at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis that share information about The Giant Waterclock.
Want to know how the time is changed on the water clock?
What do you think happens?
Do you think it’s paused until the correct time?
That was my guess.
My friend Jenny has the inside scoop. She said the clock has a computer panel tied to it where museum staff can change the time. Then the staff manually adds or subtracts water on the minutes or hour side using solenoid valves located below the floor. The clock does adjust itself every 30 minutes and 6 hours based on the computer clock, but when it’s a whole hour changing you have to manually add or subtract water. During daylight savings time, the museum staff will adjust the Water Clock on Sunday morning before the museum opens.
Here’s a video on how it all works:
