The project is developing a lot of interest locally, nationally and internationally. We have received phone calls and email from all over the planet, including Japan, Germany and England.

We have had lots of press including The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA; USA Today, National; The Columbia Basin Herald, Moses Lake, WA. The story also went out on the Associated Press Wire and was published in newspapers all over the world. This coverage will assist in providing interest and potential technical and financial assistance for the project.

We have also been on 15 live radio broadcasts throughout the world, which helps to broaden the exposure of Soap Lake and our project.

The City of Soap Lake City Council voted on October 2, 2002 to support the project, which provides the necessary step to procure feasibility funding from the State of Washington, through the WA-CERT program.

We also have support from Grant County, the County Soap Lake resides in, and the Washington State Business and Tourism Development office in Olympia.

The project is being reviewed by KPFF Consulting Engineers in Seattle, Washington. They are the fifth largest structural engineering firm in the world and very qualified for analysis of our project. They find the project fascinating.

The primary challenging issue of the structure is the giant glass and/or plastic vessel that is at a scale never before attempted by anyone in the world. Glass and/or plastic materials present interesting technical manufacturing challenges due to the size contemplated and the functional performance requirements of the "Lava Liquid" within the vessel. Structural issues due to the hydrostatic pressures of containing the volume of liquid estimated for the vessel will require retention by careful analysis of vessel wall thickness and/or retention rings to reinforce the vessel. More information will be provided on this subject when additional structural analysis and calculations are completed.

Interesting facts and figures:

Edward Craven-Walker 1918-2000 invented the Lava Lamp in 1963, in England. He died on August 15, 2000, in Ringwood, England. He was 82.

He is quoted as saying, "I think it will always be popular. It's like the cycle of life. It grows, breaks up, falls down, and then starts all over again."

The popularity issue is clear. More Lava Lamps were sold in the last three years than in the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's combined. By 1998 manufacturers in England and the United States were selling more than two million of the lamps per year.

Everyone ranging from People Magazine to the Smithsonian Institute has hailed the Lava Lamp as an American Icon.

The largest Lava Lamp on the market towers over four feet tall and holds ten gallons of liquid. (The Giant Lava Lamp in Soap Lake will hold an estimated 60,000 gallons!)

Haggerty Enterprises, Inc., is the only official manufacturer of the Lava Brand Motion Lamp in the United States. Mathmos is the only official manufacturer of the lava lamp in the UK.

There are over 100 different styles and color combinations of lava lamps. The Lava Brand "Century" style Lamp was the first US style created and the Astro style Lamp was the first UK style. Both are still top sellers today.

No two Lava Lamps are the same. They all have their own personality. "A motion for every emotion."

Laura and the Lava Lamps, a musical group formed in 1994, should certainly be present when the Giant Lava Lamp is unveiled and play a major role in the festivities. Laura's quest for their music was to create "a primordial groove in perpetual motion."

The top electrical accessory item for UK college students in 2002 is the Lava Lamp.

Because the Lava Lamp has been around since the 60's, the popularity has spread throughout four generations, thus making them appealing to all age groups.