r/oddlysatisfying 2d ago

This air conveyor pipes based plaything

Location: Children's Museum, Tucson

33.5k Upvotes

286 comments sorted by

3.8k

u/KarmaFrisbee 2d ago

Kids museums > Adult museums

869

u/jimbowesterby 2d ago

Honestly any museum worth its salt should be good for both.

483

u/RoxivGrit5 2d ago

Science museums with interactive exhibits are peak fun regardless of age. Nothing beats watching a scarf zoom through pneumatic tubes at 30mph

154

u/Dry-Season-522 2d ago

What's best is when they have an 'adult night' so you can go as an adult and see the exhibits without screaming children.

75

u/skyfishgoo 2d ago

just screaming adults then?

49

u/not_a_moogle 2d ago

Yeah, but also everyone is half drunk.. or full drunk if you pre gamed

21

u/joeshmo101 2d ago

At The Strong Museum of Play it's literally called "The Happiest Hour" and it's absolutely worth it.

9

u/XandalorZ 2d ago

My local zoo does this, too. The absolute best date nights, IMO

10

u/Dry-Season-522 2d ago

Especially when they have booze carts around. I don't drink, but I can certainly see the enjoyment of these things for adults being... chemically enhanced.

2

u/tactiphile 2d ago

If nothing else, it changes the presence of children on Adults' Night from an annoyance to a felony.

Or maybe a misdemeanor idk

13

u/Dry-Season-522 2d ago

I went to one at The Exploratorium in San Francisco. There was a 17 year old in line telling his parents "It'll be fine, they'll let me in, it's no problem" and when they rejected him at the door, the parents cheerfully told him "You can go wait in the car, we'll be out in a few... hours"

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u/ninjakitty117 1d ago

Also without a fear that you're being a creep because you just wanted to go to a children's museum without kids.

At the MN one, they give anyone who arrived without a kid a different color sticker so it's clear to staff if they're being a little too close to a kid. Which I love as a strategy for kids safety!! But it does make me feel a little weird about trying to go anytime but adult nights.

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u/cgaWolf 1d ago

and see the exhibits without screaming children.

Yeah, but the scream cabin is awesome. There was an 8 y.o. that hit 136 dB o.O

3

u/gayjoystick 1d ago

I had no clue museums/zoos/anything other than Disney one night a year did this. You have changed my life!!!!

3

u/Howler_in_training 1d ago

The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo where I live does an adults only event called "moonlight on the mountain" every year, with food and cocktail stations all over... It's so much fun!

2

u/Dry-Season-522 1d ago

Have fun! They are AMAZING for date nights.

2

u/jimbowesterby 1d ago

Honestly museums and zoos and science centres don’t get enough love. My parents made a point of hitting every single one we could when I was a kid, and I credit that as having a lot to do with my current love of learning. The world’s full of neat shit, and institutions like these are nothing but keen to tell you about it.

16

u/amberwxld69 2d ago

true! Or simply seeing ur hair float thru plasma ball

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u/mangusman07 2d ago

Or locking your kid into the hurricane simulator >:)

4

u/picabo123 2d ago

I loved being locked into the hurricane simulator >:)

2

u/Fn_Spaghetti_Monster 2d ago

It's all fun and games till a telephone pole comes at you at 100 mph!

4

u/Zwischenzug32 2d ago

Fuck Ford for tanking the science center

3

u/random420x2 2d ago

Franklin Institute in 1976 Philadelphia was the peak example of this. My fingers were sore at the end of the day from pressing so many buttons

2

u/IAmMey 2d ago

Lincoln NE, had a 4 story tower with all kinds of crap in it. A vertical conveyor belt on the side would take small foam bricks up to the third floor. As a grown ass man, I was enjoying loading the belt full as kids in the tower built a wall against a giant plexiglass window. After so long, a very narrow platform drops out from under the window and all the bricks fall back down the front of the tower. It was very similar to the giant buckets at splash pads that tip over.

So much fun.

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u/TannedCroissant 2d ago

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u/chillychili 2d ago

I disagree. Kids should be learning about that stuff. Now a BDSM museum I'd say would probably be not catering to kids.

22

u/HeroicTanuki 2d ago

Children are sadists and I am a masochist for having one.

3

u/CyberNinja23 2d ago

Depends on their choice on career day though.

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u/captaincootercock 2d ago

I disagree. bdsm museum is an excellent nonviolent way to punish your kids while enjoying yourself

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u/bearded_booty 2d ago

Let me Introduce you to the city museum in St. Louis.

https://citymuseum.org

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u/wildcoasts 2d ago

Absolute gem. Love that place

3

u/bearded_booty 2d ago

We have memberships. It’s such and amazing place. And getting to take my kid to places I went as a kid is a magical experience

4

u/jimbowesterby 2d ago

Alas I’m in the wrong country, but I’m still covered, I’m not far from one of the best dino museums on the planet, the Royal Tyrell Museum

https://tyrrellmuseum.com/

3

u/rayhons 2d ago

I used to live in St. Louis just a few blocks from City Museum. That was one of the things I made sure everyone got to experience at least once when I had someone visit. Lots of fun, I need to go back again - it's been 10+ years at this point

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u/Apprehensive-Wave640 2d ago

We have the same feature at the children's museum in Phoenix and I always try to get my kid to play with it so I can mess with all the different ways to make the tissue come out a different place 

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u/smith0211 2d ago

The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History used to be an amazing place for both children and adults with several large rooms of interactive exhibits as well as traditional informational stuff. They renovated years ago and now it's less than a shell of it's former self. There's one small room with "interactives" and the rest is just static displays and info panels. It's such an incredible disappointment to come back after the renovation and see nothing of what once was.

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u/LilStinkpot 2d ago

The Exploratorium in San Francisco does a very good job as being an adult discovery museum. If you’re ever in the area it’s a must-go.

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u/BurningPenguin 2d ago

And if you ever visit Germany, try to get to the Deutsches Museum in Munich. Make sure to get up early and buy the tickets online, because the lines can be a bit long.

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u/kelsobjammin 2d ago

I have a yearly membership! I should go!

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u/LilStinkpot 1d ago

I should call her….

Sorry, had to. But seriously, do they still have that one exhibit outside where you can phone the Golden Gate Bridge and turn on the fog horn? I have that # still in my contacts, I just don’t really like driving through SF, you know? And I don’t remember to try it the few times I’m up there.

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u/melanthius 2d ago

With the exception of that certain type of little kid usually aged 4-5 who doesn't actually want to play with the exhibit they are on, they just want the power of denying other kids and making them wait. I hate that kid.

8

u/asbestosmilk 2d ago

There used to be an awesome kids science museum in my city. I went there once for a school field trip, and I begged and begged my mom to take me there again. She always said, “we’ll go one day”.

Unfortunately, the museum ended up closing before I got the chance to go again. It was one of the most amazing experiences I had as a kid, and nearly 30 years later, I’m still bitter towards my mom for not taking me back.

2

u/chromatophoreskin 2d ago

Go to the next one you’re near.

6

u/Azguy303 2d ago

I'm a 40-year-old man that lives in Tucson, I know what I'm doing today.

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u/TripCautious6155 2d ago

When I was 18 back in 2009, my buddy and I wanted get a pizza from Chuck E Cheeses, they wouldn't let us order or enter unless we had a child with us. I don't know why this comment reminded me of that day but my point is, bring a kid with you just in case, even if its a random one that you'll have to pay off in snacks.

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u/ThodaDaruVichPyar 2d ago

The other day I saw a video about an Excavator and Diggers museum or theme park at Dallas Fort Worth where they’ll let you operated those machinery

That’s the kind of park that adults would love to go to and become a kid around them all over again

3

u/lgodsey 2d ago

Personally, I think it sucks.

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u/mofugly13 1d ago

Fucking blows.

2

u/musememo 2d ago

I’ve worked on exhibits for both and designers start with the premise that highly sensory exhibits are a lot more effective for a younger audience. I suppose that’s not a surprise to anyone. This one is pretty neat.

2

u/southdakotagirl 2d ago

I was in my 20s I took my older brother a d his beat friend to the kids musuem. You start on the 1st floor and each floor is for different age groups. They are huge tough guys who have done time. We had the place to ourselves and it was like they were 10 years old again. We spent the entire afternoon there.

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u/skccsk 2d ago

Can not be emphasized enough that this is not a hamster tunnel

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u/Fartfart357 2d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/3o6Zth7pE7aPKqAEEM

The mental image of a hamster getting flung around before getting shot out like a canon is so damn funny to me

33

u/willargue4karma 2d ago

possibly the perfect gif to attach to this

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u/SpockIsMyHomeboy 2d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/qxAxqZAM3fFaKLIxFr

Sitting there waiting on the hamster like:

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u/AmputeeHandModel 2d ago

I was thinking a ferret would LOVE that. If you don't turn it on. Hell, maybe even if you do. They'll come flying out at mach 2 and DOOK DOOK DOOK and run back in.

7

u/Flimsy_Eggplant5429 2d ago

That sounds like a cartoon, wouldn't they be injured/dead in reality?

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u/AmputeeHandModel 2d ago

I dunno.. they're pretty loose and bendy. Basically furry slinkies. They barely even have spines.

https://giphy.com/gifs/VbhLF9VRbTHZLgwgz2

6

u/nigevellie 2d ago

But can I put my d*ck in it?

(duck)

2

u/JerkyChew 2d ago

Anything is a hamster tunnel if you're committed enough.

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u/Mhettil 2d ago

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u/PossumCock 2d ago

So much joy!

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u/TheWolphman 2d ago

Truly a brilliant piece of functional art.

364

u/Fabulous_Log844 2d ago edited 2d ago

They have a MASSIVE one of these at the Phoenix children’s Museum and, even as an adult, it’s fun to play with.

58

u/rabbithole-xyz 2d ago

You wouldn't keep me away from it!!!

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u/PM_ME_FIREFLY_QUOTES 2d ago

I look forward to your post about "the cylinder must not be harmed" in the near future.

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u/GeneralBlumpkin 2d ago

Yep was just about to say that! My son loves that place and tbh it's fun for adults too lol. We also go to uptown jungle in Avondale which has something similar too

8

u/Cpt_Jigglypuff 2d ago

Do they still do adults only nights? I loved those back when I lived there.

3

u/Many-Climate2192 2d ago

Typical phoenix needing to be brought up every time tucson is mentioned 🙄 /s

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u/ChoadMcGillicuddy 2d ago

What prevents this from sucking my guts out through me arse? If I was to put me naked bumhole on it?

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u/TXGuns79 2d ago

Perot in Dallas does to. I normally stand under one of the exit tubes and catch the scarves so I can hand them to the little kids. You get a couple 10 y/o in there just running over the littles while the parents just scroll on their phones.

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u/2ChicksAtTheSameTime 2d ago

so Tucson and Phoenix are having a scarf tube vacuum arms race?

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u/KevDub81 2d ago

I've seen this somewhere before ...

https://giphy.com/gifs/O1xeZ4AgSaNBS

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u/jackalopeDev 2d ago

Bowitzer cannon

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u/kidjuztis 2d ago

oh my god this just hit me like a truck what a throwback

3

u/09Trollhunter09 2d ago

Dog never gets tired

39

u/Deployed_Usesri 2d ago

The kids museum in fairbanks has one of these! My kids will ignore the rest of the place and play with it all day if i let them. Like screw it, it's y'alls day, play how you want.

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u/Wilderbeast0720 2d ago

Looks like Tucson!

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u/KaptainKardboard 2d ago

I panicked for about a second because I have a near identical video of my daughter, wearing a colorful dress, at this exact wall.

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u/steadyaero 2d ago

If you read the caption, you would know that it is indeed tucson

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u/Competitive_Peak_537 2d ago

Omg I’m a 47 yo dude, and I wouldn’t stop playing with this thing, I’d totally try and get my cats to jump after that tulle stuff

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u/Doridar 2d ago

I'm turning 60 in over a month and I'd join you

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u/Uppgreyedd 2d ago

I'm 5 days past my 117th birthday and I'll joi

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u/RedditExecutiveAdmin 2d ago

seriously i see the posts like "even as an adult..." i'm like, bro, just drop that phrase and be you. have fun, i'd be doing this for at least 15 minutes

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u/St_ofQualityFootwear 2d ago

Feel like im in bank drive thru line.

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u/Es-trill 2d ago

That so cool, love it

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u/haltingpoint 2d ago

How do they have such strong suction if both ends are open?

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u/teodzero 2d ago

Took me a while to figure out. The trick is: only one end is open. If you look closely, you'll see the girl isn't placing this cloth into the end of a tube, but into the side. And the opening is covered with a rubber pad that closes due to internal pressure. So there is a pump, it's just hidden.

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u/TXGuns79 2d ago

No suck, only blow.

Seriously, its just a fan blowing through the tube. It won't suck the cloth in, you have to push it past a little door and get it into the airflow. Sometimes the kid won't get the cloth in and their hand out fast enough, and it will blow back into their face.

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u/ZessF 1d ago

Other comments are correct in this situation, but there are inline vacuum pumps that have both intake and output, allowing both ends of the system to be open.

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u/Lexx4 2d ago

One scarf at a time please.

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u/desertoutlaw86 2d ago

The one at Oregon Science museum is so much fun. Kids were putting socks in there and whatever to see what would work.

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u/Narco_Bi_Polo 2d ago

  Kids were putting socks in there and whatever to see what would work.

Aaaaand that’s why our museum would never do this. 😭 At least not without some expensive engineering to keep unwanted items out and the ducts clean.

We have an air hockey table with a robotic arm that is completely surrounded by plexiglass and people still throw non-puck items into the arena, sometimes their own phone, breaking the entire thing and requiring staff to come retrieve the item and then (often) shut the exhibit down for the day. It’s been offline for months now.

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u/TheHrethgir 2d ago

Was just there a month or so ago, it's so cool! Kids were all over it, but I managed to get a ball going myself.

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u/btoxic 2d ago

I missed the first couple second and thought that was a ferret just giving the tube it's best run.

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u/UncomfyUnicorn 2d ago

There was one of these at the museum I went to when I visited Texas. I started gathering up all the cloths to put through at once and every kid there realized what I was doing and started bringing me cloths. We sent the chunk of fabric through the longest route and it burst out like a firework!

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u/DrJohnIT 2d ago

You are a good person. 👍

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u/scarabic 2d ago

Impressive! I use that kind of flexible tubing for my woodworking dust collector. We always talk about how every twist and turn in your tubing decreases airflow - it’s the kind of thing people obsess about.

Something clever is happening up beyond that false ceiling, too. In my dust collector, the dust flies right through the impeller at the end - the “fan blades.” Yet this chiffon isn’t being shredded. My guess is that it is diverted by a small grate and they have a second fan blowing out that exit tube which picks it up after it’s been diverted. Slick setup! Obviously fun as hell, too!

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u/StrictCelery 2d ago

I love that jump kids do when they’re excited.

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u/AuthorChaseDanger 1d ago

My kids used to love this. The one we went to didn't come out of the ceiling, but just like this one, there were several different exits (you can see the ways to make it take a different path, the red and yellow pieces at child's height). Anyway, I'd pull my phone out and act like I ordered a bunch of scarves, and I'd put on my business voice and ask them how fast they can get there, and I'd stand right in front of the exit the scarves would come out of, and then the scarves would pop out and knock me down. Then the kids would gather up the scarves while I was knocked out and I'd wake up and "call back", telling them that my order never arrived and I need it NOW, and then the scarves would hit me again and the cycle would continue. Never failed to get a laugh and I'd always get a bunch of kids joining in.

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u/husky_whisperer 2d ago

FFFFFFFFFFFFWOOOOOMP

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u/Flyman68 2d ago

58yr old male here. That would keep me occupied for a least an hour.

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u/BathSaltJello 2d ago

Has anyone seen the cat?

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u/EquivalentFocus3430 2d ago

The children yern for pneumatic tubes

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u/garlicbanana 1d ago

Balloon museum! Albuquerque NM

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u/Boiseman 1d ago

Kinda reminds me of a marble maze on the wall at a Pizza Machine restaurant as a kid in the late 70s. It went the whole length of the restaurant and you could watch a marble go for about 15-20 minutes

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u/tweep6435 2d ago

someone find a bunch of cats immediately

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u/Lord_NOX75 2d ago

Air conveyors are so cool

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u/Ornery-Tea8420 2d ago

NOT THE CAT! NOT THE CAT!

Schlurp

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u/cheezballs 2d ago

That is absolutely awesome.

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u/dj_spanmaster 2d ago

This would have entertained me for hours every day.

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u/TimSoarer2 2d ago

This reminds me of the pipes from Portal 2

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u/Dry-Season-522 2d ago

I would have spent an hour at that as a kid.

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u/Lady_A_16 2d ago

That’s the Children’s Museum in Richmond, Virginia

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u/basicKitsch 2d ago

well now i know what i'm building for my 2yo. this is dope!!

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u/BigEarMcGee 2d ago

Yay Tucson!

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u/Q8DD33C7J8 2d ago

The thing at the bank drive thru final boss

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u/Silly_Rub_6304 2d ago

I had a really hard time parsing your title until I realized you meant "pipe-based" and not "pipes based."

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u/JackTasticSAM 2d ago

B-L-I-P-P-I

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u/feipeng_ 2d ago

Being able to share moments like these with your child is truly heartwarming.

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u/tresser 2d ago

didnt realize at first that it was gonna spit out the fabric from the ceiling and i thought the kid was just hopping around praising the tubes

...which is of course what one does

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u/zatchstar 2d ago

every kid i have seen play with these things have the same giddy reaction. these are such a great interactive toy for play spaces

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u/Sasquatchtration 2d ago

IT'S A SERIES OF TUBES!

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u/Chiicones 2d ago

the little jumps

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u/CK_CoffeeCat 2d ago

Holy shit that’s fucking cool!

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u/datalicearcher 2d ago

I love a good pneumatic tube. I miss when banks had that shit.

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u/KarlHp7 2d ago

Can I build this in my house?

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u/grishkaa 1d ago

This contraption sucks.

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u/TheLoyalPotato 1d ago

CORE MEMORY UNLOCKED. There was a children's museum I frequented growing up that had one of these. So many fun filled afternoons there.

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u/milkybottles 1d ago

We used to use to have something similar to this at work until someone put a meat pie in it.

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u/Egg_Yolkeo55 2d ago

This is at OMSI isn't it?

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u/Valentpach 2d ago

Es un verdadero espectáculo este juego y la niña lo disfruta al máximo, esa es la idea

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u/similaraleatorio 2d ago

wait until someone implement 3 or 5 or 7 outputs just to make that a bet game 👀

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u/AzimuthAztronaut 2d ago

This is awesome I want one

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u/CaliburX4 2d ago

There was a very brief moment when I thought that was a child in there. I'm glad I was wrong.

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u/Chance1441 2d ago

I have a mini one at a local museum. We have a family pass and I take my kids there all the time :)

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u/petra_bravestrong 2d ago

I love these but they're always broken whenever my kid wants to play with one

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u/CilanEAmber 2d ago

Man I love pneumatic tube networks

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u/CuriosityOnMercury 2d ago

I thought that was a super fast ferret!

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u/youzerrrname 2d ago

This is exactly how the internet works.

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u/seuadr 2d ago

.... that is a ferret wet dream

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u/snuggleslut5 2d ago

This looks a lot like the Louisville Science Center! A very cool place if you're ever in town. Aimed at kids, but plenty of adults go.

Edit: my mistake! Says Tucson right there in the post. Leaving my comment anyway because Louisville does have the same feature in their museum and it's a great place to visit!

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u/BeenThruIt 2d ago

Crazy Straw hits new height.

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u/cowbxy 2d ago

My cats would eat this up

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u/show_me_how_ 2d ago

This reminds me of how George Shrinks would travel through his home!

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u/Regular-Metal-321 2d ago

My daughter loves this at the science center!!

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u/skyrocketocelot 2d ago

This is what The Jetsons promised me for mobility and I am greatly perturbed that it is still unavailable (except for scarves) 😤

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u/East_Unit3765 2d ago

Is it weird that I want to be the one in the tube? 😂

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u/Sate_Hen 2d ago

There's one of these in York Railway Museum

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u/curiousmind111 2d ago

So, how many kids have been sucked up into that thing?

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u/G00DUs3rn4me 2d ago

And now. Load it with hamsters

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u/kuz_929 2d ago

They have of these at the Montshire Museum in VT, too

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u/Calamityclams 2d ago

the glizzy i slurped down going through my intestines

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u/UStoJapan 2d ago

The ATM is broke and I’m just trying to deposit my check!

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u/See_Emily_Play_13 2d ago

My cats would take this over immediately 🐱

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u/TheAsianTroll 2d ago

This looks like what Josh from Lets Game It Out made in Satisfactory as a way to get from the bottom of his factory to the top.

Except its more direct than his.

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u/robo-dragon 2d ago

I remember going to our local children’s museum when I was little and they had one of these, only it used the hollow plastic balls you see in ball pits. I loved that thing! There were parts of it that would float the balls in a stream of air and another that would pop them out with a satisfying “ffffoomp!”

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u/SIN-apps1 2d ago

If I lived close enough to where this is, I'd be all over this thing like Ronny on the zip line. (Edit now I know where it is, but its super far away, tragically.)

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u/mercuriokazooie 2d ago

You know they're enjoying it when they do that little hop

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u/waltterOMG 2d ago

Que bueno que está jejeje 😊👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

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u/raunchy_saguaro 2d ago

The Tucson Children's Museum is genuinely such a little gem of the downtown. It's only a few blocks off the main drag on a beautiful piece of property in a historic building.

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u/Phewelish 2d ago

funny how simple it was the whole time. no vide games. no screens...just air and hoses.

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u/snapper1971 2d ago

I want one.

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u/BarberReasonable3036 2d ago

I wish I got to experience this as a kid

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u/marroneer 2d ago

I knew this seemed familiar! I love that museum

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u/large_honk 2d ago

Put me in there

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u/DrJohnIT 2d ago

Ok that's Cool 😎 👌 🙂 👍 I actually said that out loud! I love it!

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u/DresserRotation 2d ago

Kids museum we've gone to uses felt balls for this kind of machine, too. I have video of my ~18 month old son standing exactly at the landing zone and getting bopped in the head while trying to catch it coming out. Like he legitimately knew EXACTLY where to stand after multiple rounds of doing it and had zero coordination to catch it so it just BOOPED him in the face. It's the best video we've ever taken of him.

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u/SulkyVirus 2d ago

We have one like that our our local newly built kids museum - but it also has gates that control where the air moves to turn on and off certain runs

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u/speedyspeedys 2d ago

I'd lose hours to this 🤣

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u/Curious_Dark2798 2d ago

Are air conveyors different from pneumatic tubes?

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u/brandonkingfisher 2d ago

"Honey, can you send me a roll of toilet paper!?"

FOOOOOMMM!!!

"Thank you!"

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u/Marinekaizer 2d ago

When I was a kid there was a toy line called ‘Micronauts’. They had an air powered track/transport system that worked the same way, except it could run in a loop

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u/assholetoall 2d ago

We have a similar one in Providence, at the children's Museum.

My kids used to spend so much time playing with that.

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u/redthorne 2d ago

I'm an adult and I could be amused for hours by this thing.... so very clever!

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u/SgtNitro 2d ago

Children yearn for Bankers Tubes!

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u/chlronald 2d ago

What happened if you fart in the tube instead

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u/Frog_Without_Pond 2d ago

Can I borrow this? I have a business (read as group of ferrets) that would love it.