Interactive flip book installation built for the Kinzua Bridge State Park and Sky Walk Museum.
Wooden and steel cabinet features 9 Museum Grade Flip Books, each housed in a custom designed etched-brass chassis with position sensors and activated by spinning a hand crank.
Programming and action of the animations was achieved with a micro-controller with motor driver circuits and crank sensors.

The Kinzua bridge was a gargantuan undertaking for it’s day.
Originally built out of wrought iron in 1882, it was the tallest railroad bridge in the world upon completion.

The construction project was well documented with photos. A few years after its completion, civil engineering advanced and new trains were much heavier. Bridge engineers realized that the Kinzua bridge had to be rebuilt, one support tower at at time - and that process was also photographed. Wendy later combined those photos into the fascinating image sequence and together, we built a 3-chapter, 9-flipbook display.

The first two triptychs show the construction and steel retro-fitting, and the third shows the bridges fateful destruction by a massive tornado in 2003. Wendy recreated a depiction of the bridges destruction from a few still photos of the tornado, supplemented with hand drawn animations.

The Kinzua Sky Walk

The remains of the Kinzua bridge is now called the Kinzua Sky Walk. Visitors can stroll out to a breathtaking view, complete with glass floor panels, and see the mangled remains of the old bridge scattered in the valley below. (they can also see a very special Mechanical Flipbook project on display in the delightful and informative PA Wilds visitor center!)