Iowa State University


Inside Iowa State
November 5, 1999

Send your questions about Iowa State sites, people, history, policies and "things" to Ask Inside,217 Communications, e-mail: inside@iastate.edu.

Q: What's the size range of the bells in the Iowa State campanile?

A: Iowa State's carillon has 50 bronze bells (considered slightly larger than average, by number of bells, among the world's carillons). The largest bell weighs 5,484 pounds and measures 5 feet 4 inches in diameter. The smallest bell weighs 9 pounds and is 6 inches in diameter. The total weight of the 50 bells of Iowa State is 30,855 pounds.

A set of fewer than 23 bells is considered a chime. A carillon contains at least 23 bells (two octaves). The largest number of bells in a carillon anywhere is 76.

Source: Tin-shi Tam, ISU carillonneur

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Revised 11/4/99