We listened to a 1/2hr history lesson on it. (sadly no demonstrations)
It was really cool! The telescope was originally completely mechanical. It has a weight driven clock mechanism in the center bit that counter acts the earth's rotation. VERY COOL.
Just a beautiful piece of elegant engineering.
The wooden floor is on hydrolic jacks that raise and lower the floor. In all the columns surrounding the floor there are counter weights rigged to pulleys to help hold the weight.
To keep the floor from becoming uneven, there are torsion axles that run across through the floor and link up to linear gears on the columns. This keeps each side moving up and down at the same speed.
Oh, and the hydrolic jacks are driven by the potential energy stored in a water tank nearby. (at a slightly higher elevation)
A wind turbine pumps the water up into the water tank from a natural spring at the top of the mountain.
So beautiful.