A new attraction which combines nature
and physics in a powerfully compelling presentation
has just opened at the Crystal Caves.
The Magic Spheres, a floating galaxy of
mineral spheres which glow with natural
fluorescence, took owner Rene Boissevain
seven years to arrange and have been hailed
as a world first by international museums.
“We were told by staff at the Franklin
Mineral Museum in the USA (where fluorescing
minerals are highly rated as the next big
thing) that they know of no-one else who
has attempted a display like this,”
explains Rene Boissevain. Most flourescing
mineral samples and spheres are in static
displays just on shelves, yet the Crystal
Caves has taken an idea floated by Rene
and executed the 3D galaxy style display
entirely on their own.“I had the idea
about 15 years ago at a gem and mineral
show when someone rolled a small flourescing
sphere glowing under UV light across the
floor in front of me. Then I thought ‘what
if they were actually floating in space?’
Its taken a lot to achieve the Magic Spheres,
including some brand new, cutting edge,
high tech ultraviolet lights custom made
in imported from the USA. The effect from
these lamps is a virtual explosion of spectrum
colours - its absolutely dazzling.”
Aside from the imported lamps, the Magic
Spheres attraction was devised using local
Atherton Tableland talent.
“We asked Bill Ralph, one of the most
talented members of the Atherton Lapidary
Club, to cut five spheres, and he’s
done an amazing job,” said Rene Boissevain.
“Next, we tried for many months to
find an engineer with the skills necessary
to construct the machines we would need
to animate the spheres in the way that we
had envisaged. The project was too ‘out
there’ for everyone we contacted and
just when we were starting to despair we
found another local, Warren Clinton from
Clinton Construction and Engineering. Warren
was really excited about the ideas that
we presented and went ahead to design and
build all the mechanisms used to bring Magic
Spheres to fruition, while adding his own
flair along the way.”
The journey to the ‘alien solar system’,
as it was dubbed by one visitor, was not
without drama. “Over the 10 months
of construction, we faced numerous unexpected
challenges,” explains Rene Boissevain.
“Who would have known that the black
rubber wheels used in parts of one of the
machines would fluoresce brilliantly white
under our special ultraviolet lights or
that the black fabric we wanted to use would
fluoresce purple?”
The overall impact of the Magic Spheres
cannot be understated. The mineral spheres,
which look like ordinary rocks under normal
light, take on another dimension of reality
as they orbit with their dazzlingly rich
hues.
“It’s mesmerising and entrancing,”
says Rene Boissevain. “People who have
experienced it have watched for an hour
and said they can’t tear themselves
away. I tell them we added a touch of black
magic voodoo into the mix when we made them,”
he laughs.
