AlunaTime at Epcot

I saw this awhile back and thought it has an old school Disney educational feel that I think a lot of people miss about Epcot, but with a relavant and designy feel at the same time. Given Walt's "Clock of the World" timepiece that was originally in Tomorrowland, I think Walt would certainly have wanted one of these for FutureWorld in Epcot, or glowing out in the waters of the World Showcase Lagoon.


AlunaTime is a tidal powered moon clock. It's made of translucent recycled glass that has LED lights through out the entire piece. There is one being built in England and also one in Australia that mirrors the Northern Hemisphere, one moving clockwise and the other counter-clockwise. Visit the official site here.

You can tell the moons phase, position, and the tide by the way the three concentric rings are lit up at any given time. At night the rings are lit up with white lights and during the day the leading edges of the rings change to color.


The largest ring represents the Lunar Phase, or wax and wane of the moon. On a new moon the unlit ring gradually lights up over the next 29.5 days to become fully lit by the time of the full moon. It then works it way back, waning back to the next new moon.

The center ring is the moons direct position in relation to the earth based on a lunar day of 24 hours and 50 minutes. If the moon is below the horizon the ring is visible below your feet.

The inner most ring displays the tidal cycle. It is likened to the "heartbeat" of the piece, ebbing and flowing with the tide cycle every 12 hours and 25 minutes.