Storke Tower facts for kids
Storke Tower is a famous bell and clock tower on the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) in the United States. It was opened on September 28, 1969. This tall tower has 61 bells and stands about 175 feet (53 meters) high.
Contents
What is Storke Tower?
Storke Tower is a special kind of bell tower called a carillon. It has 61 bells, which are all different sizes. The smallest bell weighs about 13 pounds, and the largest one is very heavy, weighing almost 4,800 pounds! The biggest bell has the university's special symbol and motto on it. Other bells have important quotes.
How the Bells Work
Every hour, the tower's bells play a tune called the Westminster Quarters. This is the same tune you might hear from Big Ben in London. Also, ten minutes before every hour, the ten largest bells play a special sequence. This sequence spells out the university's motto, "Let There Be Light."
Storke Tower is the tallest building made of steel and cement in Santa Barbara County.
History and Purpose
The tower is named after Thomas M. Storke. He was a journalist who won a special award called the Pulitzer Prize. He was also a U.S. senator and lived in Santa Barbara. Thomas Storke helped start UCSB and gave money to build the tower. He also helped create the Storke Communications Plaza, which is right at the bottom of the tower.
Storke Plaza and Its Uses
The Storke Communications Plaza is a busy place! It's where the university's newspaper, the Daily Nexus, has its office. The campus radio station, KCSB-FM, and the yearbook office, La Cumbre Yearbook, are also located there. High up on the tower, there are antennas for cell phone signals and for the KCSB radio station.
The Plaza also has a large rectangular pond. This pond used to be a reflecting pool, which means it was just for looking at reflections. But in 2003, it was changed into a special aquatic ecosystem. This means it's a home for living things like colorful koi fish and beautiful water lilies. It's designed to be partly self-sustaining, which helps save water.
Tower Activities
Sometimes, people give concerts on the carillon bells. There have even been classes where students could learn how to play the carillon. The tower has also been used in different art projects.
For many years, students in the ROTC program at UCSB used Storke Tower for training. They would practice mountaineering skills by rappelling, which means sliding down ropes from the tower. This practice stopped in 2005.
Images for kids
-
46-01-04.jpg
Storke Tower under construction
-
PI-44-69.jpg
Bells before installation
-
PI-64-69.jpg
Worker inside the tower
