Wave Organ
Encyclopedia
The Wave Organ is an acoustic sculpture constructed on the shore of San Francisco Bay
by the Exploratorium
. Through a series of pipes, the wave organ interacts with the waves of the bay and conveys their sound to listeners at several different stations. The effects produced vary depending on the level of the tide
but include rumbles, gurgles, sloshes, hisses, and other more typical wave sounds. The structure incorporates stone platforms and benches where visitors may sit near the mouths of pipes, listening.
The Wave Organ is located at the end of a spit of land extending from the Golden Gate Yacht Club
. The overall styling of the Wave Organ is reminiscent of Lego
, or perhaps the exaggerated Lego scenery at the end of the movie Time Bandits
. The stone pieces used in its construction were salvaged from the demolition of the Laurel Hill Cemetery in San Francisco.
There's a panoramic view of the city across the narrow channel into the St.Francis and Golden Gate yacht clubs, bounded on the left by the Fort Mason piers and to the right by a towering eucalyptus grove bordering Crissy Field. The Marina Green park lies directly across, just beyond a stone sea wall; so in the foreground, daytime, are people strolling, dogs cavorting and kids flying kites.
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
by the Exploratorium
Exploratorium
The Exploratorium is a museum in San Francisco with over 475 participatory exhibits, all of them made onsite, that mix science and art. It also aims to promote museums as informal education centers....
. Through a series of pipes, the wave organ interacts with the waves of the bay and conveys their sound to listeners at several different stations. The effects produced vary depending on the level of the tide
Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....
but include rumbles, gurgles, sloshes, hisses, and other more typical wave sounds. The structure incorporates stone platforms and benches where visitors may sit near the mouths of pipes, listening.
The Wave Organ is located at the end of a spit of land extending from the Golden Gate Yacht Club
Golden Gate Yacht Club
The Golden Gate Yacht Club is a yacht club founded in 1939 and is the current holder of the America's Cup won by its racing team BMW Oracle Racing.In 1939 the first members built a clubhouse on a barge in the San Francisco Marina...
. The overall styling of the Wave Organ is reminiscent of Lego
Lego
Lego is a line of construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of colorful interlocking plastic bricks and an accompanying array of gears, minifigures and various other parts...
, or perhaps the exaggerated Lego scenery at the end of the movie Time Bandits
Time Bandits
Time Bandits is a 1981 British fantasy film produced and directed by Terry Gilliam.Terry Gilliam wrote the screenplay with fellow Monty Python alumnus Michael Palin, who appears with Shelley Duvall in the small, recurring roles of Vincent and Pansy. The film is one of the most famous of more than...
. The stone pieces used in its construction were salvaged from the demolition of the Laurel Hill Cemetery in San Francisco.
There's a panoramic view of the city across the narrow channel into the St.Francis and Golden Gate yacht clubs, bounded on the left by the Fort Mason piers and to the right by a towering eucalyptus grove bordering Crissy Field. The Marina Green park lies directly across, just beyond a stone sea wall; so in the foreground, daytime, are people strolling, dogs cavorting and kids flying kites.