Scattered thunderstorms early, then variable clouds overnight with more showers at times. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 71F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..
Tonight
Scattered thunderstorms early, then variable clouds overnight with more showers at times. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. Low 71F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä native Vinny Franck builds a re-creation of the West Virginia Capitol with wooden blocks on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. The structureÌýis to collapse in a domino-like effect Saturday as the centerpiece of the Great ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Dominoes Challenge at the Clay Center. Franck estimated that the structure would contain about 10,000 blocks when completed.
ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä native Vinny Franck builds a miniature of the West Virginia Capitol out of wooden blocks onÌýWednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. The structureÌýwill collapse Saturday as the centerpiece for the Great ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Dominoes Challenge at the Clay Center. Franck estimated the structure would contain about 10,000 blocks when completed.
Vinny Franck builds a re-creation of the West Virginia Capitol with blocks onÌýWednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. The structureÌýis to collapse in a domino-like effect on Saturday as the centerpiece of the Great ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Dominoes Challenge at the Clay Center. Franck estimated the structure would contain about 10,000 blocks when completed.
ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä native Vinny Franck builds a miniature of the West Virginia Capitol out of about 10,000 wooden blocks on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. The structure will collapse in a domino-like effect on Saturday as the centerpiece of the Great ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Dominoes Challenge at the Clay Center.Ìý
About 10,000 wooden blocks will be used in Vinny Franck's West Virginia Capitol. The re-creation is to collapse in a domino-like effect on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026, as the centerpiece of the Great ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Dominoes Challenge at the Clay Center, in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä. Franck said he has experimented with more “lever mechanisms†for this structure than he usually uses in his art installations.
ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä native Vinny Franck builds a re-creation of the West Virginia Capitol with wooden blocks on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. The structureÌýis to collapse in a domino-like effect Saturday as the centerpiece of the Great ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Dominoes Challenge at the Clay Center. Franck estimated that the structure would contain about 10,000 blocks when completed.
LAURA BILSON | Gazette-Mail
Vinny Franck sat cross-legged on the floor of the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences of West Virginia while he worked, glancing at a photo of the West Virginia Capitol on his phone as he placed small wooden planks down in the formation of the north steps of the Statehouse.
"I started when I was about 5 years old," said Franck, 22. "I've just never gotten bored of it."
Franck, a ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä native, is a performance artist focused on combining civil engineering principles and detailed aesthetics to create self-imploding sculptures made of toy blocks and dominoes.ÌýHe has traveled across the country and around the world to create his installations, as well as being part of the team that created the Guinness World RecordÌýtallest tower made of wooden blocks.Ìý
ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä native Vinny Franck builds a miniature of the West Virginia Capitol out of wooden blocks onÌýWednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. The structureÌýwill collapse Saturday as the centerpiece for the Great ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Dominoes Challenge at the Clay Center. Franck estimated the structure would contain about 10,000 blocks when completed.
LAURA BILSON | Gazette-Mail
Now, Franck has brought his skills back to his hometown as part of an installation for the Great ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Dominoes Challenge, which will be held Saturday at the Clay Center. His installment involves a re-creation of the West Virginia Capitol made out of about 10,000 wooden blocks. His process involves no planning and is entirely freehand, as Franck says most of his work is.
"Usually, I have an idea in mind and just go with it," he said. "I can't make any guarantees it's going to work, but I try to balance aesthetics with the actual engineering and structure."
Vinny Franck builds a re-creation of the West Virginia Capitol with blocks onÌýWednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. The structureÌýis to collapse in a domino-like effect on Saturday as the centerpiece of the Great ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Dominoes Challenge at the Clay Center. Franck estimated the structure would contain about 10,000 blocks when completed.
LAURA BILSON | Gazette-Mail
Franck started building domino structures with his brother, Alexander, by watching YouTube videos of domino techniques and attempting to re-create them to little avail.Ìý
"I would always try to do them as a kid," Franck said, "but it would always just fail spectacularly."
About five years ago, Franck mastered the technique of "lever mechanisms," which involves placing wood planks horizontally on top of block chains in a V-formation to multiply the force of the domino. This technique is now used in most of his creations.Ìý
ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä native Vinny Franck builds a miniature of the West Virginia Capitol out of about 10,000 wooden blocks on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. The structure will collapse in a domino-like effect on Saturday as the centerpiece of the Great ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Dominoes Challenge at the Clay Center.Ìý
LAURA BILSON | Gazette-Mail
"Almost all my knowledge comes from watching videos and replicating them, and almost everything I build involves [lever mechanisms]," Franck said. "I have my own variations of them now. That's what I always do. I see a technique on YouTube, I get it, and then I make it my own."
Franck started his YouTube channel, Franckplanks, in 2022, and has since uploaded more than 170 videos, each of which involves at least one unique build. He was invited to build at the American Visionary Arts Museum, in Baltimore, in July and featured on the KEVA Toy Blocks Instagram page for his creations. Although Franck's works often include tens of thousands of blocks, he has never prematurely toppled one of his pieces.
"My passion has always been building with blocks," Franck said on his YouTube page, "But, at least for now, it's just a hobby. I'm not looking to get famous."
About 10,000 wooden blocks will be used in Vinny Franck's West Virginia Capitol. The re-creation is to collapse in a domino-like effect on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026, as the centerpiece of the Great ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Dominoes Challenge at the Clay Center, in ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä. Franck said he has experimented with more “lever mechanisms†for this structure than he usually uses in his art installations.
LAURA BILSON | Gazette-Mail
The Great ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Domino Challenge will offer first-come, first-serve spots to 15 families to participate in chain-reaction domino experiments. The event will close out with a community knockdown, including the participating family members' domino designs with Franck's Capitol replica as the centerpiece.
The event is open to everyone, but Zack Merritt, director of education at the Clay Center, said children age 6 and older will get the most out of the experience.
"It's a little bit more tedious," Merritt said. "It's a little bit more setting up and being patient with it. Whereas some of our youngest visitors that are 3 or 4 years old, they won't understand or have a good time with it. So, if there's a family thinking, 'My oldest son would love to do it, but my baby daughter would hate it,' you could split up and all have fun."
Sara Oppenheimer is a ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Gazette-Mail reporter. Contact her at:Ìýsopp@hdmediallc.com.
