Monday, July 2, 2012

Whisper Walls

The Whisper Walls are a Sesame Place science attraction that has been at the park since (at least) 1981.
2012 Image
The Whisper Walls are an acoustic mirror that allows sound as low as a whisper to travel a great distance by bouncing off a concrete dish.

2012 Image

The two dishes face each other and by speaking directly into the green ring in the center the sound travels from one end to the other.

2012 Image

Prior to World War II (and the invention of radar) the acoustic mirror was used in Great Britain as early warning military devices.

Today, commonly called "Whisper Dishes", they are often found at science museums.

The set at Sesame Place are located on the second floor of the Net's N' Climbs walkway. They are a bit hidden and easy to overlook.

In 1981 they had a much more prominent location in front of the Computer Gallery (to the left of Big Bird Bridge.)
1981 Image from YouTube

I'm not sure when or why they were moved. Perhaps it hindered traffic flow; or maybe the area by Big Bird Bridge was too busy for the Whisper Walls to function effectively.
 1981 Image from YouTube

The Whisper Walls are a fun little diversion and it's great to see them remain at the park over 30 years later.
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3 comments:

  1. John GiambroneOctober 8, 2017 at 5:39 PM

    Is whisper walls still there?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yuuki TakemotoJuly 13, 2018 at 3:20 PM

    I remember them bein by the games gallery on my first visits in 1995-1996 by 1998 they were on the second floor of the nets walkway like you said

    ReplyDelete
  3. Disco SpinachJanuary 31, 2019 at 9:29 PM

    That Whisper Walls sign screams early 80s Sesame Place. Hard to believe they didn't take it down for 30 plus years until 2014.

    ReplyDelete