SOLVING A MASSIVE PUZZLE
Rubik’s Cube built for Telus Spark
When Wes Nelson was asked to build a big Rubik’s Cube to display at Telus Spark in Calgary, he didn’t want to just build a wooden cube with stickers on it.
That would be boring. Nelson, the exhibit technician at Telus Spark, wanted to build the world’s largest, fully functional Rubik’s Cube.
On Wednesday, the science centre unveiled Nelson’s creation, measured it to ensure it meets the necessary size requirements and began slowly solving the cube. The current record holder, a cube located in the U.K., is 5 foot 2 inches. The two engineers measuring Nelson’s cube yelled out the official height of “5 foot 6 and a quarter.”
“I’m always thinking, how big and awesome can we make this?” said Nelson after the unveiling. “I’ve been at it for five weeks and a day or two. For the past two weeks it’s been surreal around here, everybody has literally stopped talking to me . . . I’ve been in a bubble by myself, grinding this out.”
It’s part of Nelson’s job to think big and build large-scale displays that enhance the educational facility. He began constructing the $2,500 cube by coming up with a digital design then piecing together the cardboard, pipe, foam and vinyl.
“We spent one night smearing lubricant into the interior surfaces of this thing to make sure that it spins,” Nelson said of the most challenging problem his team overcame.
Nelson recalls a time in his life when he could solve the Rubik’s Cube, but he gave up trying to relearn when his life began revolving around creating the cube.
“I can’t spend 12 hours a day building it, and then come home and spend another hour or two trying to solve it,” he said.
Members of the Calgary Cubing Club were at Telus Spark, demonstrating their skills beside the new largest cube.
Jake Klassen solved a Rubik’s Cube while blindfolded. While his skills were impressive, he was equally impressed with what Nelson created.
“I know it would be hard to keep the mechanisms stable at such a large size,” said Klassen.
Jackson Pichurski, whose cubing record is 4.3 seconds, felt honoured to be part of the unveiling.
“It’s huge. I thought it would be a lot smaller,” said Pichurski.
Videos and final measurements will be sent to Guinness World Records, to have the achievement officially signed off, but Nelson is confident they’ll approve because their construction method was similar to the current world-record holder.