Last time, we prepared to set off for the integration weekend. Today, we talk about what transpired there (at least the first part of it!)

Marc had arranged with some friends of his for a large field to be available for the weekend. This allowed us to spread out and use a lot of space to setup. It also offered some interesting logistical challenges. You see, the large trucks (26′, I think) couldn’t make it all the way to the back field, so we had to offload onto pickup trucks[1] for the last leg of the journey. Thankfully, we had two on hand[2]:

There was a lot to move, with teams at the large truck unloading, doing transport via pickup truck, and unloading the pickup trucks at the back field.

So, if you’ll recall, the purpose (for us) of this weekend was to do as much of a build as we could, an integration test to make sure that our design and construction for Mirror Blaze were sound. Here’s the overhead view:

Here’s the list of the mirrors and posts that we ended up using for the integration test. Note that we constructed the inner triangle surrounding the flame effect, along with a small corridor on the left so we could test the feeling of being inside the maze ablaze:

The next couple of pictures should give you a sense of the size of the area that we were fortunate enough to have to play with for the integration weekend (and the incredible number of people who came to help out, my apologies for names I’ve missed). Also, you can see the staging area where the pickup trucks would drop off parts for the various installations:

Here you can get an idea of the scale of Riskee Ball:

Silicone place mats did the trick, preventing abrasions from the metal stand onto the quartz tube!:

Not visible in this picture: The rebar holding the post:

I really enjoy making .gifs, especially ones that include such joy:

Stay tuned next time for more integratey goodness!

[1]This was similar to the occasion when we had to move biosafety cabinets from one part of campus to another, where the loading dock was around a corner where the large trucks could not go. The solution was the same, offloading onto a pickup truck.

[2]I think one was Seth’s, and I don’t remember who had brought the other one.