A kugel fountain (also called a floating sphere fountain or by the pleonasmic name kugel ball) is a water feature or sculpture where a sphere sits in a fitted hollow in a pedestal, and is supported by aquaplaning on a thin film of water. Pressurized water flows between the sphere and socket, creating a mechanical hydrostatic bearing that is nearly frictionless. The sphere can weigh thousands of kilograms, but the efficient bearing allows it to be spun by the force of a hand. The sphere does not float, being denser than water; it is often made from granite. The hydraulics of the fountain can be controlled so that the axis of rotation of the sphere changes continually. Ring sculptures that rotate on an axis are also built.
Kugel fountains can be found all over the world. Many are at popular tourist destinations, such as science museums,Amanda Oaks, Richmond in the Record Books, Richmond.com, 18 August, , Retrieved 18 September 2007 shopping centers, lobbies, and gardens.
is the German word for ball or sphere.
Locations of kugel fountains
FacilityCityCountryDiameterGPS CoordinateFurther information Temaikèn Park Belén de Escobar, Buenos Aires Province Argentina Feldkirch Austria UnknownCasino InnsbruckInnsbruckAustria This kugelbrunnen (English: kugel fountain) is located in front of the Casino Innsbruck at Salurner Straße 15 in Innsbruck, Austria. Installed 2000 - Welte IHT - https://kusser.com/en_INT/portfolio/ball-fountain-casino-innsbruck/ Casino Velden Velden Austria Casino Seefeld Seefeld Austria People's Globe, Fairfield Showground Prairiewood, New South Wales Australia 1.6 m (63 in) Installed 2021, shows map of world and distances migrants travelled to Fairfield. Questacon Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Australia Bowral, New South WalesAustralia Casuarina SquareDarwin, Northern TerritoryAustralia SkyHigh Mount Dandenong Victoria Australia Forrest Place Perth, Western Australia Australia The University of Western Australia, CS Department Perth, Western Australia Australia Installed 2009Atlantis HotelNassauBahamasN 25° 05.028 W 077° 19.330https://waymarking.com/waymarks/wm11W05_Pearl_of_Atlantis_Kugel_Ball_Nassau_BahamasPlace du MartyrVerviersBelgiumInstalled in 2003, called "Rio + 10" WestJet Headquarters Calgary, Alberta Canada Chinatown Victoria, British Columbia Canada Floating metal sphere, not a Kugel ball Dundarave West Vancouver, British Columbia Canada Guinness World Records Museum Niagara Falls, Ontario Canada Holiday Inn Express Montreal Airport Montreal, Quebec Canada Foxconn Factory Courtyard Kutna Hora, Central Bohemia Czech Republic Lyngby Storcenter Lyngby Denmark University of Helsinki, Physicum buildingHelsinkiFinland0.5 m (20 in) Rotuaari pedestrian street Oulu Finland Hämeenpuisto Tampere Finland Casino Grand Cercle Aix-les-Bains France Rue de Bretagne Alençon France Square des longs-prés Boulogne-Billancourt, Île de France France Place de l'Hôtel de ville Le Havre France Près-La-Rose natural park Montbéliard France Spreebogen Berlin Germany Architect: Stephan Haan; Material: GraniteSparkasse BensheimBensheimGermanySchweinemarktplatzCrailsheimGermany49.136516°N 10.072113°E Äußere Neustadt, Martin-Luther-Platz Dresden Germany Düren Germany Erlangen Germany Garmisch-Partenkirchen Casino Garmisch-Partenkirchen Germany Am Kurpark 10, 82467 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany Palmengarten Frankfurt am Main Germany Hanse-Viertel Hamburg Germany Installed in 2012 Westpark Munich Germany TibusplatzMünsterGermany ,Europa-Park, SchlossparkRustGermany,HerrenschreiberstraßeRheineGermany ,City Center, RiesenstraßeKaiserslautern, Rheinland-PfalzGermany Langenfeld Germany Calwer StraßeStuttgartGermany SAP SE HeadquartersWalldorfGermanyAm Zwinger 1Sankt WendelGermany House of SciencePatrasGreeceA granite sphere of a diameter of precisely 1 m, immersed in the water basin up to the angle of 35° from the bottom. Bengaluru International Airport Terminal Bangalore India W5 Interactive Discovery Centre Belfast Northern Ireland Bloomfield Science Museum Jerusalem Israel Parco Commerciale Dora Turin Italy Incrocio Viale Giosuè Carducci-Via Filzi Riva del Garda Italy Parco Kumamoto Japan Lobby of the Radisson Blu Hotel Salwa, Kuwait City Kuwait Triq it-Torri Sliema Malta Te Papa Museum Wellington New Zealand Centrum of Tjuvholmen Aker brygge Oslo Norway Byrkjedalstunet Rogaland Norway Flåm Sogn og Fjordane Norway Park Zdrojowy Polanica-Zdrój Poland ATRAKCJE TURYSTYCZNE: POLANICA ZDRÓJ, summer 2017 , Retrieved on 8 August 2017 (in Polish) "The Solar System" Tarnów Poland Kosmiczna fontanna w Tarnowie juz dziala , Spring 2011, Retrieved on 5 June 2011 (in Polish)Predmostnaya PloshchadKrasnoyarskRussia The city has six kugel balls. Malaya Sadovaya Street Saint Petersburg Russia PetnicaValjevoSerbia Patrimonio Inteligente Puerto Lumbreras, Región de Murcia Spain Casa de las Ciencias A Coruña Spain Museo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología Alcobendas, Madrid Spain Museo Elder de la Ciencia y la TecnologíaLas Palmas de Gran CanariaSpain28.141104ºN 15.429532ºW Kaggensgatan Pedestrian Street Kalmar Sweden Kursaal Bern Switzerland Due to construction/renovation work at the Kursaal Bern the Kugelbrunnen has been sold to a private person and moved to an undisclosed location.Rue Cheneau-de-Bourg Lausanne Switzerland Zürichhorn Zürich Switzerland Donbas Arena Donetsk Ukraine Waitrose car park Abingdon England Carsington Water Visitor Center Derbyshire England Paultons Park Hampshire England Paultons Park , Summer 2008, Retrieved 15 June 2009 Town Centre Kenilworth England Techniquest Cardiff Wales Amarillo, Texas United States "Discovery", Columbus Learning Center Columbus, Indiana United States Water Tower Plaza Gilbert, Arizona United States Disneyland Anaheim, California United States Disney California Adventure ParkAnaheim, CaliforniaUnited States Amtrak Station Bakersfield, California United States San Diego Zoo Safari Park Escondido, California United States San Diego Zoo San Diego, California United States Hollywood Guinness Museum Los Angeles, California United States Livermorium PlazaLivermore, CaliforniaUnited States Opened June 15, 2022, this plaza commemorates the creation of the element Livermorium (Lv). Morgan StanleyLa Jolla, CaliforniaUnited States California Baptist University Riverside, California United States Canyon Creek ParkSan Jose, CAUnited States Fry's Electronics San Marcos, California United States Railroad Community Park Santa Paula, California, United States 29th Street Mall Boulder, Colorado United States Belmar Shopping Center Lakewood, Colorado United States Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Merritt Island, Florida United States Magic Kingdom Walt Disney World Orlando, Florida United States State Botanical Garden of Georgia Athens, Georgia United States The State Botanical Garden of Georgia: Art in the Garden Retrieved 30 May 2012 Lincoln Park Zoo Chicago, Illinois United States Morton Arboretum Illinois United States Abt Electronics Glenview, Illinois United States Holliday Park Nature Center Indianapolis, Indiana United States Columbian Park ZooLafayette, IndianaUnited StatesThe sphere fountain is a product of Kusser Fountain Works in Germany, a gift from The McAllister Foundation. Coleman-Morse Center Notre Dame, Indiana United States Notre Dame Magazine Online , Summer 2001, Retrieved 31 July 2008 Iowa State Fairgrounds Des Moines, Iowa United States Louisville Zoo Louisville, Kentucky United States Marshall Nemer Pavilion, Lourdes Hospital Paducah, Kentucky United States Unknown Towne Center at Cedar Lodge Baton Rouge, Louisiana United States The Ripley's Believe It or Not MuseumBaltimore, MarylandUnited States Davison Township Police Department Davison, Michigan United States The Frank's Nursery and Crafts Rose Garden at Michigan State University East Lansing, Michigan United States Private home Superior Township, Michigan United States Somerset Collection Troy, Michigan United States Mississippi College Clinton, Mississippi United States Kansas City Life Insurance Company Kansas City, Missouri United States Bob Devaney Sports CenterLincoln, NebraskaUnited StatesInstalled in 2011 by Top Stone Henry Doorly Zoo Omaha, Nebraska United States Millennium Plaza Omaha, Nebraska United States StorylandGlen, New HampshireUnited States , Duke Power Charlotte, North Carolina United States Elon University, Numen Lumen Pavilion Elon, North Carolina United States Meditation gardenMartin Luther King, Jr. MemorialRocky Mount, North CarolinaUnited States Canton Ohio Downtown Canton, Ohio United States Destroyed By vandals TriHealth Fitness & Health Pavilion Cincinnati, Ohio United States Bloch Cancer Survivors Plaza (park) Columbus, Ohio United States COSI Columbus Columbus, Ohio United States Unknown The Mall at Tuttle Crossing Columbus, Ohio United States Unknown Tulsa Zoo Tulsa, Oklahoma United States Nike Campus Beaverton, Oregon United States Unknown McKenzie Park Hermiston, Oregon United States Railroad Plaza Lansdale, Pennsylvania United States Alter Hall, Temple University Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States Reading Hospital Reading, Pennsylvania United States Robert E. Freeman Memorial Park Providence, Rhode Island United States Outside Mellow MushroomMount Pleasant, South CarolinaUnited States The Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum Myrtle Beach, South Carolina United States The Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum Gatlinburg, Tennessee United States Miracle FieldMurfreesboro, TennesseeUnited StatesLocated at McKnight Park. Kugel ball is a representative of a baseball, and bears the signature of Boston Red Sox pitcher and Murfreesboro native David Price. Miracle Field was constructed with funds from Price's charity, Project One Four. The facility opened on 6 May 2017. Oak Court Mall Memphis, Tennessee United States Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park (Earth kugel ball) Nashville, Tennessee United States World War II Memorial lbs Cancer Survivors Plaza Dallas, Texas United States Historic Downtown Grapevine Grapevine, Texas United States ConocoPhillips Campus Houston, Texas United States Houston Museum of Natural Science Houston, Texas United States Oaks Medical Group Bountiful, Utah United States University Place Orem Orem, Utah United States Utah's Hogle Zoo Salt Lake City, Utah United States Lagoon Amusement Park Farmington, Utah United States Atlas Walk Gainesville, Virginia United States 7000 pounds Virginia Zoological Park Norfolk, Virginia United States International Mission Board Richmond, Virginia United States Science Museum of Virginia (Earth kugel ball) Richmond, Virginia United States World's largest since 2003 Science Museum of Virginia (Earth's Moon kugel ball) Richmond, Virginia United States Crossroads Park Bellevue, Washington United States Whatcom Community College Bellingham, Washington United States Pacific Science Center Seattle, Washington United States Milwaukee County Zoo Milwaukee, Wisconsin United States Casper Area Chamber of Commerce Casper, Wyoming United States Canyon Visitor Education Center Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming United States Five Points Centennial Plaza Five Points (Columbia, South Carolina), South Carolina United States St. Rita's Medical Center St. Rita's Medical Center, Ohio United States Jack C. Taylor Conference Center Annapolis, Maryland United States Installed in front of the Jack C. Taylor Conference Center at the United States Naval Institute in 2021. Piazza d’armi (a public square) Carrara Italy Made by Kenneth Davis in 1979 1.8 tonsBREC Baton Rouge ZooBaton Rouge, Louisiana United StatesMagic KingdomBay Lake, FloridaUnited States
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See also
References
External links
Kugel fountain FAQ Terracache dedicated to the kugel fountain. Waymarking list of large kugel fountains, with GPS coordinates and images.