London Zoo Clock

The clock stands outside the aviary in London Zoo. Every half hour the clock 'strikes' and it comes to life putting on quite show as little metal birds appear and disappear, some flying in circles around the clock. When I arrived at the clock there was already a crowd of people waiting for the 'show'. All the movement in the clock is controlled by pneumatics. The clock was built and designed by Tim Hunkin.

London Zoo Clock, by Tim Hunkin, 2008

Clock outside the aviary at London Zoo (located in the north section of Regents Park)

Behind the clock.
The photo is a bit dark but note the green bird (with cable attached) to the left in the photo.

The little blue bird popped out of the hat and then later went back into it

Toucan pecking the pendulum to keep it moving.

More information: http://www.timhunkin.com/a136_zoo-clock.htm

Globe Sundial: London Zoo

Here's some photo's I took earlier today in London Zoo showing the Globe Sundial designed by Wendy Taylor in 1989:

"This Globe Sundial shows in miniature how the Earth is bathed in sunlight. Time is indicated by the fin which casts the least shadow. The combination of the tilt of the earth's axis and the varying speed of its progress on an elliptical path around the sun causes a difference between the time shown and mean time of up to 16 minutes. The greatest differences occur in February and October."