California Arrow - 1904
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St. Louis Way Back MachineDid you know that kaleidoscopes can be time machines? This “Way Back Machine” is a kaleidoscope celebrating St. Louis past and present.
The body of the Way Back Machine is a modern-day dirigible commemorating the first publicly viewed powered air flight in America which occurred at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. Go to https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/kings-of-the-air-3437428/ to learn more about it. Google "California Arrow" to see pictures of the real dirigible (also shown here). The original dirigible was steered by the pilot shifting his weight along a light-weight structure beneath the dirigible. The kaleidoscope image is an arch representing the St. Louis arch, known as the Gateway to the West. |
Arched Image
In the kaleidoscope world, the arched image is sometimes known as Rainbow Love; although my son thought he invented it and called it Cherokee Headdress. This style of image is created using a 4-sided polygon mirror system that only has two mirrors. The two opposing sides of the polygon are mirrors with the same width, whereas the other two sides are non-reflective and have different widths. The angles and the widths of each side of the polygon determine the amount of arch in the image.
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In addition to the glass and beads normally found in the object chamber, there are several objects related to St. Louis’s history. See if you can find the following:
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St Louis Fair Dirigible History
The 1904 Worlds Fair was known as “The Most Stupendous Entertainment the World Has Ever Known”. It lasted 7 months and included many special events such as the Olympics and an aeronautic competition that featured a $100,000 grand prize. The challenge was to fly 3 times around a 10 mile course surrounding the fair site before Nov 1. Powered dirigibles had been flown in Europe, but no powered air vehicle had been flown in the United States.
Many entrepreneurs tried for the prize; the top candidate, Santos-Dumont, had recently flown his dirigible around the Eiffel Tower and he brought his dirigible to the fair site. It was sabotaged and irreparably damaged even before it was unpacked. The other candidates who tried could not clear a 30 foot fence where the dirigibles were kept, and therefore were disqualified.
One contestant, Tom Baldwin, was a tightrope walker and trapeze artist, often performing stunts dangling beneath a rising balloon. He built a dirigible in California and found a motorcycle mechanic (Curtis) who agreed to attach a motor and propellor to it. Since he was too heavy for the dirigible he found a pilot (Knabenshue) who was giving tethered hot air balloon rides at the fair.
October 25th, they tried for the prize and started up the engine - which ran horribly! It was spitting fire and smoke and ran so roughly the pilot wished he had a rubber guard between his teeth. He shouted “go get the mechanic”, but Baldwin misunderstood, and he set the dirigible aloft. It cleared the fence, missed the tall spires of the fair buildings, avoided the Ferris wheel, and started the course; but then the engine stopped. After the due date they got the engine working again and gave demonstrations through the end of the fair. While they were first, they didn’t win the prize.
Many entrepreneurs tried for the prize; the top candidate, Santos-Dumont, had recently flown his dirigible around the Eiffel Tower and he brought his dirigible to the fair site. It was sabotaged and irreparably damaged even before it was unpacked. The other candidates who tried could not clear a 30 foot fence where the dirigibles were kept, and therefore were disqualified.
One contestant, Tom Baldwin, was a tightrope walker and trapeze artist, often performing stunts dangling beneath a rising balloon. He built a dirigible in California and found a motorcycle mechanic (Curtis) who agreed to attach a motor and propellor to it. Since he was too heavy for the dirigible he found a pilot (Knabenshue) who was giving tethered hot air balloon rides at the fair.
October 25th, they tried for the prize and started up the engine - which ran horribly! It was spitting fire and smoke and ran so roughly the pilot wished he had a rubber guard between his teeth. He shouted “go get the mechanic”, but Baldwin misunderstood, and he set the dirigible aloft. It cleared the fence, missed the tall spires of the fair buildings, avoided the Ferris wheel, and started the course; but then the engine stopped. After the due date they got the engine working again and gave demonstrations through the end of the fair. While they were first, they didn’t win the prize.