Foucault's Pendulum on UT Campus

I recently heard there was a Foucault's Pendulum on the UT Campus.  With two science loving boys and one science loving husband, I figured Christmas break was the perfect time to check it out!

The pendulum is located in the Development Building on UT Campus -- But not the UT Campus you think of.  This building is located across I-35 from Main Campus. You've probably passed the building a hundred times on the elevated portion of I-35.  On the east side, a brown building with a red cylinder in the middle.  The red tower contains the pendulum - and has since 1985.  Who knew??

So, parking isn't an issue.  There are plenty of parking spaces, allowing you to easily access the pendulum.  Go inside the building, take a quick left, and you will see the pendulum in the stairwell, along with a small plaque explaining its purpose.

Having a PhD physicist in the family, we had all the explanation we needed. But if you aren't already familiar with the pendulum, I suggest you take a few moments before you visit to 'get' the concept.   Wikipedia has a nice animation explaining the gist of it all.  Essentially, the pendulum, designed in 1851, was the first simple test to show that the earth was rotating.

The pendulum moves along the same plain, but because the earth is rotating, the pendulum appears to move (though it is really us who are moving!)

We all had a great time running up and down the stairwell, checking the pendulum out.  The floor has small rectangles marking off the hours; We even stopped back after some chores to see how the pendulum had moved.

Very fun!