Kugel ball

A kugel ball is a water feature or sculpture where a sphere sitting in a spherical pocket on a pedestal is supported by a thin film of water. Pressurized water flows beneath the sphere slightly supporting it off the pocket. A kugel ball can weigh thousands of pounds. As the thin film of water suspends and lubricates the ball, it can be spun by hand.^[1] Kugel balls are often fabricated from granite. Ring sculptures that rotate on an axis are also built.^[2]

Kugel ball installations can be found all over the world. Many are at popular tourist destinations, such as science museums^[3] shopping centers, lobbies, and gardens.

The term kugel ball originates from the German word Kugel for ball or sphere.^[4]

Kugel balls

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  Simplified diagram of the workings of a kugel ball

• 

  Lansdale station, Railroad Plaza, Lansdale, Pennsylvania

Locations of kugel balls

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Facility	City	Country	Diameter	GPS Coordinate	Further information
Bob Devaney Sports Center	Lincoln, Nebraska	USA	4 foot[5]	40.830207°N 96.697644°W	Installed in 2011 by Top Stone
The Frank’s Nursery and Crafts Rose Garden at Michigan State University	East Lansing, Michigan	USA		42°43′15″N 84°28′27″W / 42.72079°N 84.47413°W
Marshall Nemer Pavilion, Lourdes Hospital	Paducah, Kentucky	USA		Unknown
Towne Center at Cedar Lodge	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	USA		30°25′58″N 91°06′43″W / 30.432830°N 91.112009°W
Town Centre	Kenilworth	UK		52°20′38″N 1°34′47″W / 52.343929°N 1.579821°W
Holiday Inn Express Montreal Airport	Montreal, Quebec	Canada		45°27′40″N 73°43′26″W / 45.461109°N 73.723973°W
Abt Electronics	Glenview, Illinois	USA		42°04′05″N 87°51′09″W / 42.067964°N 87.852602°W
Parco	Kumamoto	Japan		32°48′11″N 130°42′36″W / 32.802953°N 130.710127°W
TriHealth Fitness & Health Pavilion	Cincinnati, Ohio	USA		39°15′21″N 84°21′54″W / 39.255901°N 84.364927°W
Reading Hospital	Reading, Pennsylvania	USA		40°19′47″N 75°56′58″W / 40.329704°N 75.949492°W	[6]
Science Museum of Virginia	Richmond, Virginia	USA		37°33′39″N 77°27′58″W / 37.560809°N 77.466157°W
Virginia Zoological Park	Norfolk, Virginia	USA		36°52′43″N 76°16′28″W / 36.8786°N 76.2744°W
International Mission Board	Richmond, Virginia	USA		37°34′06″N 77°28′56″W / 37.5683565°N 77.4822119°W
Millennium Plaza	Omaha, Nebraska	USA		41°15′51″N 96°09′44″W / 41.264191°N 96.162198°W
Forrest Place	Perth, Western Australia	Australia		31°57′10″S 115°51′33″E / 31.952756°S 115.859182°E
The University of Western Australia, CS Department	Perth, Western Australia	Australia		31°58′40″S 115°48′59″E / 31.97781°S 115.81645°E	Installed 2009
Questacon	Canberra, Australian Capital Territory	Australia		35°17′53″S 149°07′53″E / 35.298158°S 149.131507°E
SkyHigh Mount Dandenong	Victoria (Australia)	Australia		37°49′37″S 145°21′10″E / 37.826974°S 145.3528°E
Mississippi College	Clinton, Mississippi	USA		Unknown
	Feldkirch	Austria		Unknown
Erlangen	Bavaria	Germany		49°35′44″N 11°00′19″E / 49.595552°N 11.005286°E
University of Colorado at Boulder	Boulder, Colorado	USA		40°00′26″N 105°15′43″W / 40.007360°N 105.261906°W
29th Street Mall	Boulder, Colorado	USA		40°01′02″N 105°15′21″W / 40.01715°N 105.25585°W
Belmar Shopping Center	Lakewood, Colorado	USA		39°42′31″N 105°04′39″W / 39.708726°N 105.077594°W
	Langenfeld	Germany		51°06′35″N 6°56′55″E / 51.109795°N 6.948499°E
	Kansas City, Missouri	USA		39°03′52″N 94°35′25″W / 39.06434°N 94.590298°W
Railroad Plaza	Lansdale, Pennsylvania	USA		40°14′35″N 75°17′09″W / 40.243083°N 75.285833°W
	Amarillo, Texas	USA		35°12′25″N 101°49′51″W / 35.207017°N 101.830733°W
	Wellington	New Zealand		41°17′26″S 174°46′53″E / 41.290556°S 174.781389°E
Carsington Water Visitor Center	Derbyshire	England		53°03′37″N 1°38′31″W / 53.060217°N 1.641850°W
	Dallas, Texas	USA		32°47′10″N 96°47′45″W / 32.786083°N 96.795739°W
Railroad Community Park	Santa Paula, California,	USA		34°21′21″N 119°03′37″W / 34.35597°N 119.0604°W
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex	Cape Canaveral, Florida	USA		28°31′21″N 80°40′52″W / 28.522486°N 80.681198°W
Bloch Cancer Survivors Plaza (park)	Columbus, Ohio	USA		40°00′26″N 83°01′22″W / 40.007172°N 83.022688°W
The Mall at Tuttle Crossing	Columbus, Ohio	USA		Unknown
COSI Columbus	Columbus, Ohio	USA		Unknown
Holliday Park Nature Center	Indianapolis, Indiana	USA		39°52′18″N 86°09′41″W / 39.871552°N 86.161384°W
Disneyland Resort	Anaheim, California	USA		33°48′43″N 117°55′01″W / 33.811818°N 117.917062°W
California Baptist University	Riverside, California	USA		33°55′48″N 117°25′30″W / 33.93°N 117.425°W
Magic Kingdom Walt Disney World	Orlando, Florida	USA		28°25′07″N 81°34′45″W / 28.4186592°N 81.5792516°W
Dundarave	West Vancouver, British Columbia	Canada		49°20′00″N 123°10′57″W / 49.333258°N 123.182506°W
Coleman-Morse Center	Notre Dame, Indiana	USA		41°42′03″N 86°14′26″W / 41.700701°N 86.240622°W	[7]
Chinatown	Victoria, British Columbia	Canada		48°25′45″N 123°22′01″W / 48.429117°N 123.366900°W
Nike Campus	Beaverton, Oregon	USA		Unknown
Amtrak Station	Bakersfield, California	USA		35°22′20″N 119°00′30″W / 35.372101°N 119.008233°W
Square des longs-prés	Boulogne-Billancourt, Île de France	France		48°49′56″N 2°14′47″E / 48.832248°N 2.24638°E
Casino Grand Cercle	Aix-les-Bains	France		45°41′20″N 5°54′50″E / 45.68889°N 5.91389°E
Rue de Bretagne	Alençon	France		48°25′53″N 0°04′38″E / 48.431505°N 0.077226°E
Près-La-Rose natural park	Montbéliard	France		47°30′21″N 6°48′11″E / 47.50583°N 6.80306°E
Paultons Park	Hampshire	England		50°56′56″N 1°33′08″W / 50.94887°N 1.552355°W	[8]
Parco Commerciale Dora	Turin	Italy		45°05′15″N 7°40′05″E / 45.087556°N 7.668025°E
The Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum	Gatlinburg, Tennessee	USA		35°42′41″N 83°31′06″W / 35.711403°N 83.518453°W
The Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum	Myrtle Beach, South Carolina	USA		Unknown
Guinness World Records Museum	Niagara Falls, Ontario	Canada		43°05′31″N 79°04′34″W / 43.091872°N 79.075985°W
Canyon Visitor Education Center	Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming	USA		44°44′05″N 110°29′31″W / 44.734717°N 110.491888°W
Rotuaari pedestrian street	Oulu	Finland		Unknown
Milwaukee County Zoo	Milwaukee, Wisconsin,	USA		43°08′03″N 87°57′21″W / 43.134167°N 87.955833°W
San Diego Zoo Safari Park	Escondido, California	USA	.6 m (2 ft 0 in)[lower-alpha 1]	33°05′55″N 116°59′56″W / 33.09866°N 116.99889°W
Henry Doorly Zoo	Omaha, Nebraska	USA		41°13′31″N 95°55′41″W / 41.225158°N 95.927939°W
Duke Power	Charlotte, North Carolina	USA		35°13′33″N 80°51′02″W / 35.2258014°N 80.8505208°W
Oak Court Mall	Memphis, Tennessee	USA		35°07′02″N 89°54′48″W / 35.117305°N 89.913378°W
Kaggensgatan Pedestrian Street	Kalmar	Sweden		56°39′42″N 16°21′52″E / 56.661616°N 16.364538°E
Palmengarten	Frankfurt am Main	Germany		Unknown
Casino Velden	Velden	Austria		Unknown
Iowa State Fairgrounds	Des Moines, Iowa	USA		41°35′44″N 93°33′04″W / 41.595546°N 93.551049°W
Davison Township Police Department	Davison, Michigan	USA		43°01′38″N 83°33′21″W / 43.027255°N 83.555757°W
Malaya Sadovaya Street	Saint Petersburg	Russia		59°56′03″N 30°20′15″E / 59.93421°N 30.33744°E
	Lausanne	Switzerland		Unknown
Zürichhorn	Zürich	Switzerland		47°21′12″N 8°33′07″E / 47.35321°N 8.55182°E
Hämeenpuisto	Tampere	Finland		61°29′52″N 23°45′07″E / 61.497792°N 23.751926°E
Lyngby Storcenter	Lyngby	Denmark		55°46′17″N 12°30′21″E / 55.771329°N 12.505888°E
Morton Arboretum	Illinois	USA		41°48′50″N 88°04′12″W / 41.81393°N 88.06997°W
Casa de las Ciencias	A Coruña	Spain		43°21′42″N 8°24′50″W / 43.3618°N 8.413951°W
Louisville Zoo	Louisville, Kentucky	USA		38°12′20″N 85°42′25″W / 38.205438°N 85.707023°W
Somerset Collection	Troy, Michigan	USA		42°33′41″N 83°11′2″W / 42.56139°N 83.18389°W
Pacific Science Center	Seattle, Washington	USA		47°37′9″N 122°21′4″W / 47.61917°N 122.35111°W
Temaikèn Park	Belén de Escobar, Buenos Aires Province	Argentina		34°22′00″S 58°48′16″W / 34.366725°S 58.804462°W
Utah's Hogle Zoo	Salt Lake City, Utah	USA		40°44′59″N 111°48′59″W / 40.7496150°N 111.8162750°W
Temple University	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	USA		39°58′48″N 75°09′22″W / 39.980071°N 75.156248°W
Lobby of the Radisson Blu Hotel	Salwa, Kuwait City	Kuwait		29°22′30″N 48°05′14″E / 29.375°N 48.08722°E
Westpark	Munich	Germany		48°07′23″N 11°31′52″E / 48.122954°N 11.531178°E
W5 Interactive Discovery Centre	Belfast	Northern Ireland		54°36′14″N 5°54′56″W / 54.603768°N 5.91560°W
ConocoPhillips Campus	Houston, Texas	USA		29°47′18″N 95°36′49″W / 29.788273°N 95.613542°W
Techniquest	Cardiff	Wales		51°27′46″N 3°10′05″W / 51.462671°N 3.168174°W
	Gilbert, Arizona	USA		33°12′47″N 111°28′29″W / 33.21293°N 111.47463°W
Whatcom Community College	Bellingham, Washington	USA		48°47′43″N 122°29′37″W / 48.79534°N 122.493681°W
Donbass Arena	Donetsk	Ukraine		48°01′15″N 37°48′34″E / 48.02083°N 37.80944°E
"The Solar System"	Tarnów	Poland		50°00′30″N 20°58′31″E / 50.008344°N 20.975416°E	[9]
"Discovery", Columbus Learning Center	Columbus, Indiana	USA		39°15′10″N 85°54′08″W / 39.252718°N 85.902096°W	[10]
Bengaluru International Airport Terminal	Bangalore	India		13°11′56″N 77°42′20″E / 13.1989°N 77.7056°E
Fry's Electronics	San Marcos, California	USA		33°08′14″N 117°11′02″W / 33.13712°N 117.183952°W
Byrkjedalstunet	Rogaland	Norway		58°46′46″N 6°19′01″E / 58.779475°N 6.317047°E
Tulsa Zoo	Tulsa, Oklahoma	USA		Unknown
The State Botanical Garden of Georgia	Athens, Georgia	USA		33°54′04″N 83°22′59″W / 33.901103°N 83.383138°W	[11]
Canton Ohio Downtown	Canton, Ohio	USA		Unknown	Destroyed By Vandals
Centrum of Tjuvholmen Aker brygge	Oslo	Norway		59°54′34″N 10°43′26″E / 59.909499°N 10.723976°E
McKenzie Park	Hermiston, Oregon	USA		45°50′22″N 119°17′27″W / 45.839338°N 119.290842°W
Houston Museum of Natural Science	Houston, TX	USA		29°43′19″N 95°23′25″W / 29.721932°N 95.390239°W
Outside the Bull Inn	Bracknell	England		51°25′00″N 0°45′03″W / 51.416716°N 0.750762°W	[12]
Elon University, Numen Lumen Pavilion	Elon, North Carolina	USA		36°06′09″N 79°30′08″W / 36.102485°N 79.502274°W	Meditation garden
Hollywood Guinness Museum	Los Angeles, California	USA		34°06′05″N 118°20′17″W / 34.1012808°N 118.3380203°W[lower-alpha 2]	10,958 lb (4,970 kg) lbs[13]

Notes

^{[lower-alpha 1] [lower-alpha 3] [lower-alpha 2]}

1. Approximate
2. Visible from Google street view
3. Visible from Google satellite view

See also

• Petrosphere
• Stone spheres of Costa Rica

References

1. Snoeijer, Jacco H.; van der Weele, Ko (Nov 2014). "Physics of the granite sphere fountain". American Journal of Physics 82 (11): 1029–39. doi:10.1119/1.4886365.
2. "Ring water feature". Brahma Granitech, India. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
3. Amanda Oaks, Richmond in the Record Books, Richmond.com, 18 August [2004], Retrieved on 18 September 2007
4. "German-English dictionary: Kugel translation". Reverso.net. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
5. "Top Stone, Inc. is Excited to Announce 'World's Largest' 4 Foot/5,500 Pound Basketball Rolling Sphere Fountain at 'Cornhuskers' Nebraska Devany Sports Complex". PRWeb. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
6. ReadingEagle.com: Healing garden at Reading Hospital allows visitors to reflect (image caption)
7. Notre Dame Magazine Online, Summer 2001, Retrieved on 31 July 2008
8. Paultons Park, Summer 2008, Retrieved on 15 June 2009
9. Kosmiczna fontanna w Tarnowie juz dziala, Spring 2011, Retrieved on 5 June 2011 (in Polish)
11. The State Botanical Garden of Georgia: Art in the Garden Retrieved on 30 May 2012
13. Hollywood Guinness Museum

External links

• Kugel ball FAQ
• Terracache dedicated to the Kugel Ball.
• Waymarking list of large kugel balls, with GPS coordinates and images.