The Taipei Astronomical Museum is several years old. The fourth floor has remained vacant until now, but it has always been planned that it would house a dark ride. LifeFormations contracted to build and install seven robotic "alien" characters.
Additional labor was provided by the general contractor. The local labor was good but not being able to communcate quickly and directly with your helper became a concern. There was a translator that was available at the site in the afternoons. Otherwise you were on your own. We used sign language and drew pictures. These were supplimented with our Chinese vocabulary which consisted of "yes", "no", and "thank you". Really important information and those concerned with safety were dealt with by using longer sessions of sign language and larger drawings.
It was a hardhat job and I was glad of that. Otherwise the tube steel framework on the site would have provided some nasty bumps. I also rationized that if we received an electrical shock strong enough to knock us down that the hardhat would protect us from serious head injury when we hit the steel deck. Ladders were mostly homemade. Some of wood and another I was particularly fond of was fabricated from steel studs.
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We lucked out and didn't sustain any serious injuries. The steel decking of the ride was open down the middle where the "pods" received their propulsion. Some plywood fillers were used when we first got there but soon disappeared. This resulted in several falls through the resulting opening. My coworker dodged a bullet on a nasty fall he took. The steel of the expanded metal covering had been trimmed back far enough to eliminate the giant serrated edge that was evident on a nearby section. The resulting bruise on his thigh was the size of your hand and went through every color imaginable during our stay. One of my falls through the same type of opening resulted in a crate staple penetrating my hand. Ample blood loss and a tetanus innoculation that was up to date prevented complications.
A walk through by the mayor of Taipei prompted a major clean up the last day we were there. All of the characters were uncovered and lit up for his honor. Half a day of preparation by everyone on the jobsite was spent getting ready for his walk through which took about 10 minutes. Pictured below are five of the LifeFormation characters installed on the site.
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