1. By: Lincoln Fehr

2. Facts  -Big Ben is the nickname for the giant bell in the clock tower, not the tower itself.  -There are 334 steps to the pendulum and even more to the bells.  -They keep it within 2 seconds of time by adding pennies to the pendulum.  Big Ben is the hour bell, other bells play the chime and then Big Ben rings the hour.  It took 34 years to build the tower.  - It is 97 meters tall.  - The tower is part of Westminster Palace

3. Why was The Palace Built  The palace was built in1840-70. It was built because the old palace was destroyed by fire.  A contest was held to find the best design for a new one.  Charles Barry won. In his design he included a giant clock tower.  He hired Benjamin Vulliamy to design the clock and to figure out the price to construct it.  Big Ben  Palace of Westminster

4.  Before Big Ben there were many different time zones in Britain. They made Big Ben for more accurate time keeping for trains.

5.  Big Ben weighs about 13 1/2 tons, about as much as a small elephant.  It is made out of tin and copper.  It is 151 years old  It is 7ft 6in tall, and 9ft wide.

6.  The official name for the clock is the Great Westminster Clock  The hour hand weighs 600 pounds, and the minute hand weighs 220 pounds.  The actual clock weighs 5 tons

7. D ESCRIPTIVE PARAGRAPH It is the picture of the tower. You can see two of the clocks faces. In the background you can see a blue sky.

8. The End