The universe is inviting you to join
Help me bring Wonder to Bethlehem.
I have been making strange and beautiful things for most of my life.
One of them is called Wonder.
It is a kinetic sculpture in continuous motion: a form that appears to flow endlessly through itself, always changing and yet somehow remaining the same.
I have made Wonders large and small. They have travelled to extraordinary places and stopped people in their tracks.
Now Wonder has received an invitation I cannot ignore. Bethlehem would like one. And I would like to take it there.
The invitation
I have been talking with Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh, founder and director of the newly built Museum of Natural History in Bethlehem, about finding a home for Wonder there.
The idea is wonderfully simple: make a new Wonder here in Britain, pack it carefully, travel with it to Bethlehem, install it in its new home — and leave it there for people to experience.
Not as a political statement.
But because I believe there is value in making and sharing something whose purpose is simply to invite wonder, stillness and human connection.
Sometimes a small gesture is enough. They have invited Wonder.What is Wonder?
Wonder is difficult to describe because the strange thing about it only really becomes apparent when you see it move.
Its two intertwined helical forms pass endlessly through one another, creating a movement that seems impossible at first — something simultaneously changing and unchanged.
“Possibly the best ever expression of Heraclitus’s insight that by changing it remains the same.”
But you don't need to understand any of that.
You just have to look.
Experience Wonder →
Why Bethlehem?
Bethlehem is one of the most recognised places on Earth.
For thousands of years people have travelled there carrying different beliefs, different histories and different hopes.
Wonder carries none.
It asks no one what they believe.
It simply moves.
My hope is that, in its own tiny way, it can become a place to pause — somewhere a child, a visitor, a family or a stranger can stand beside somebody they may know nothing about and experience the same extraordinary movement.
And perhaps that is reason enough to take it there.
Experience Wonder →The quest
This is not a campaign to develop an idea.
Wonder already exists. I know how to make it.
The quest is to make another one and get it all the way to Bethlehem.
I want to document the journey too — the people who make it possible, the making of the sculpture, the road there, its arrival and the moment Wonder begins to turn in Bethlehem.
Together, we will send Wonder to Bethlehem.The plan
The sculpture will be made in Britain specifically for its new home in Bethlehem.
Wonder will be made, finished, engineered, assembled and thoroughly tested before being packed into a purpose-built protective crate.
Then comes the adventure.
When circumstances allow, I intend to travel with Wonder to Bethlehem.
There, working with Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh and his team, we will unpack it, install it and set it turning.
And then we leave Wonder behind.
A simple idea.Making it happen
Making Wonder and getting it safely to Bethlehem has real costs. Rather than hide them inside a single fundraising number, I want to show exactly what we are making possible.
I think of the quest through five elements.
The physical Wonder. Materials. Sculpture manufacture. Plinth. Turntable. Fabrication. Finishing. Packing and protection.
Getting there. Freight. Insurance. Customs. Travel and the practical logistics of moving a kinetic sculpture from Britain to Bethlehem.
The human energy. Specialist makers. Engineering. Assembly. Testing. Installation. Project coordination.
Sharing the journey. Photography, film and communication — documenting the quest from the workshop to Bethlehem so that everyone who helps make it possible can travel with us.
The unknown. Contingency. Crowdfunding and payment fees. Changing transport costs. And breathing room for the inevitable unknowns involved in a journey like this.
Our goal
We don't expect crowdfunding to carry this quest alone.
We are approaching individuals, organisations and businesses who may wish to become sponsors — contributing materials, expertise, transport, services or funding.
At the same time, we are taking the quest to Kickstarter. There is something wonderfully appropriate about Wonder reaching Bethlehem through the collective support of people who simply want to help it get there.
A few major sponsors can make an enormous difference.If you are an individual, back the quest.
If your organisation can help us make it, move it or fund it, become a sponsor.
Otherwise, share the story.
The people making it possible
The Bethlehem Quest begins with an invitation, but it will take a community to answer it — from Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh and his team in Bethlehem to the makers, engineers, supporters and sponsors who help Wonder on its way.
Every person who joins the quest becomes part of its story.
Why I'm doing this
My name is Tom Lawton. I am an inventor, artist and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. I have spent much of my life making things and following ideas without always knowing where they might lead.
The last few years have taken me through extraordinary highs and some very difficult lows. I wrote about that journey in An Inventor’s Tale.
But this quest isn't about looking backwards. It is about what we choose to do next.
I believe in the creative spirit — the strange human impulse to imagine something that does not yet exist and then begin bringing it into the world.
So when an invitation arrives from Bethlehem asking me to bring something I have created — something whose purpose is simply to inspire wonder, stillness and human connection — I feel compelled to try.
I don't know whether taking a sculpture to Bethlehem will change anything.
But I believe that when we feel powerless, a creative act can be an act of hope.
And perhaps that is where change begins.
This is the next part of mine.
Come with me.
Join the Bethlehem Quest →