balloon sculpture DNA
Clark University had a grand opening of another biology building.
This had a very unusual beginning: we were recommended by competitor-friend. They offer the same service, but on the “balloon bouquet” side only. So, when Clark University asked for something fancy, they gave our telephone number. And here I was in the new biology building. “What can you do for us?” We have done a very complicated molecule for a chemist convention once, but this called for something new. What? “Can you do a DNA? In the atrium” – as always, the answer was – “YES”!
So I was introduced to a professor who printed out several DNA models for me and gave all explanations. “Back to school” – a pleasant feelings…
It is one thing to try a balloon sculpture of Dino, it is anther to try a 3 story high DNA. I did not (and I do not) have a place that is high enough to try out things like that… So, for every minute of execution I spend 10 in planning. The scary factor was that as the balloon sculpture is being built, it goes up and the next part is added from below. If anything is wrong – I can’t jump and fix it, I can’t lower the whole thing down and get lower parts to get tangled – it would take a lifetime to get it back. So everything has to work perfectly fine the first time around. Fortunately (I would like to say “as usual”, but I am too modest! ) it worked. With a lot of planning and a little bit of experimentation at the beginning the structure turned out to be what you see on the picture.
When we were done, the professor came by and I asked if everything is correct (after all, it is his stuff!). He looked at it for a second closely and I felt like a student handing in the homework again. “Well, everything is correct” he said (A? A+?).
Others were a little more exited. Again, as it happened a lot of times, they ordered decorations for the festivities for that day only; they kept the balloon sculpture for a week.
