The Human Hamster Wheel

Location

Gordon Field House

At this exhibit, you get to experience a hamster wheel proportional to a human. The Human Hamster Wheel is a wheel of seven feet in diameter placed on a base of four smaller castor wheels that cause the larger wheel to spin around similar to that of a hamster wheel. It was a project that was conceived and created by members of the Engineering House a few years ago. Since then, individual parts have been upgraded and redesigned to improve safety and give data output. The Human Hamster Wheel displays how mechanical energy can be converted into electrical energy. A person running on the wheel causes a generator to spin and produce electrical energy. Currently, this electrical energy is used to power a fan. In the future, we plan to have a screen that displays how much power you are creating.