USU Science Unwrapped's 'Coriolis Carousel' Headed to Salt Lake City's Clark Planetarium

If you give Utah State University scientists Boyd and John Edwards a STEM outreach challenge, they’ll go big. After all, the two brothers learned how to get people excited about science from their dad, USU Physics Emeritus Professor Farrell Edwards.

“Long before Science Unwrapped, which started 16 years ago, and even before USU Physics Day at Lagoon, which turned 36 this year, my dad, who joined USU Physics’ faculty in 1959 and taught for 58 years, was ‘wowing’ students as ‘Phearless Farrell the Fizicist,’” says Boyd Edwards, professor in USU’s Department of Physics. “He would don a bright orange cape and, as a superhero, ease undergrads’ fear of physics with humor, entertaining antics and eye-catching demos.”

So, it was no surprise when Boyd and his brother John, a faculty member in USU’s Department of Computer Science, were tasked with giving a joint talk about rotational forces during Science Unwrapped’s 2024 “Building on Basics” series and set to work on a demo of demos.

Commandeering Boyd’s family living room and enlisting children and grandchildren as test pilots, the brothers crafted a wooden, human-rideable, indoor carousel. The four-person rotating platform, which the brothers dubbed the “Coriolis Carousel,” delighted guests at Science Unwrapped and, when demonstrated on a YouTube video, has garnered a whopping 10 million views and counting.

Among those viewers were team members from Salt Lake City’s Clark Planetarium. The free downtown science center that is part of Salt Lake County government and situated in The Gateway, a combined retail, residential, office and cultural district, was seeking ideas for demonstrations of the Coriolis effect.

“We were putting together ideas for our May 2025 ‘Mother Earth May’ theme for our ‘Clark After Dark’ program,” says Misty Morris, community programs and volunteer coordinator. “Clark After Dark is a monthly evening program geared to ages 18 and older.”

The Mother Earth May event, which will be Tuesday, May 20, will feature such topics as large-scale atmospheric and oceanic circulations, including weather patterns and ocean currents.

“To explore these phenomena, we needed a fun, visual way to explain the Coriolis effect,” Morris says. “Our team happened upon Professor Boyd Edwards’ entertaining YouTube videos, including the Coriolis Carousel. We contacted him to see if we could borrow it for our event.”

Edwards not only offered to lend the spinning platform — with permission from USU, he offered to donate it to the planetarium.

“Given my upcoming retirement, my brother John and I weren’t sure what to do with the carousel, and we, along with the Science Unwrapped committee, are thrilled it will have a new life at the Clark Planetarium,” Edwards says.

Morris says the planetarium’s exhibits and shows are geared to all ages, but the organization has noted the need, and interest from the community, in targeted programs geared to varied ages and interests.

“We already had programs, such as AstroTots for ages 2-5 and summer camps for older children, but chose, a couple of years ago, to create Clark After Dark for adults,” she says. “The grown-up series affords us the opportunity to explore topics in greater depth. Plus, with adults, guests can explore the program’s activities, initiated by our leaders, independently.”

Edwards says he’s pleased the carousel can be repurposed.

“We had a lot of fun designing, building and showing off the Coriolis Carousel at our community Science Unwrapped program here in Logan,” he says. “We’re delighted it will continue to provide effective learning fun.”