Music Box

This experiment demonstrates music, programming, engineering and physics. Can you see all of these elements in the Music Box, or are you happy just pumping water and making music?

The Music Box is driven by you manually pumping up water that falls down onto a paddle wheel. The paddle wheel drives the drum, which has small holes into which you can insert plastic plugs. The plastic plugs in turn lift an arm that hits a bell, causing a sound. By placing the plastic plugs in a certain order, it is possible to create a melody. This type of music box demonstrates a simple principle for programming.