Sweet Spot Demonstration

The purpose of this project was to create a sweet spot exhibit for the St. Louis Science Center to demonstrate the basic dynamic and vibrational theory behind the game of baseball. This demonstration focuses on the dynamics of batting and the effects that induced bat vibrations have on the energy transfer from the bat to the ball. Through this demonstration, the vibrational nodes within a baseball bat can be measured based on the ball’s contact with the ”sweet spot,” or the area on the barrel of the bat that induces the least amount of bat vibration. The project went through two prototypes, an initial prototype that laid out the major features of this demonstration such as the ball-tee system, base, and rotating clamp for the bat and a final prototype that refined the initial designs to withstand numerous cycles. Ultimately, the Sweet Spot Demonstration was designed to induce an interactive and hands-on learning experience about engineering concepts for the Saint Louis Science Center-going public