Game Gallery Amusements

Pinball is alive and well and more creative than ever! A father and son team of Gerrit Bonsveld and Martjin Boogaarts recently used LEGO bricks to create the world's first working LEGO pinball machine.
Gerrit and Martjin said to the Lugnet Robotics List, "The pinball machine contains 20,000 plus LEGO bricks and 13 RCX units that communicate using two communication chambers, each with a separate program. It took over 300 hours to build and the game runs on NQC software and is all LEGOS, except for the ball."
To view a picture of the LEGO pinball machine, visit (www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=1447916).
Pinball enters the human body in Gas Attack!, most recently exhibited at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta, Ga. The goal of Gas Attack! is to collect points by bouncing off bumpers dressed up as food that is known to cause gas. The Gas Attack! pinball machine is a part of the "Grossology: The (Impolite) Science of the Human Body" exhibit, which is currently on tour throughout the United States and Canada.
The "Grossology" tour is presently at the Denver Museum of Science (Denver, CO) from October 7 to January 1, 2006. It will then travel to the Calgary Science Center (Calgary, Alberta Canada) from January 21, 2006 to April 30, 2006; Science North (Sudbury, Ontario Canada) from March 4, 2006 to September 3, 2006; Echo at Leahy Center (Burlington, Vermont) from May 26, 2006 to September 4, 2006; Strong Museum (Rochester, NY) from September 30 to January 1, 2007; Pacific Science Center (Seattle, Washington) from January 27, 2006 to May 6, 2007; and the Museum of Science and Industry (Tampa, FLA) from May 26, 2007 to September 4, 2007.
To view a picture of the Gas Attack! pinball machine, visit (www.fernbank.edu/museum/grossology/aboutInsidepopup.aspx?ID=101).
For more information about the "Grossology" tour, visit (www.grossologytour.com/grossology.swf).