Kathy Neely, age 13, of Danville, I11., for her question:

HOW BIG IS BIG BEN?

Big Ben is one of the world's most famous bells. The great Big Ben is in a clock tower of the House of Parliament in London, England.

Big Ben weighs 13 1/2 tons. It is 9 feet in diameter and 7 1/2 feet high.

Big Ben's voice rang out for the first time in 1859. On New Year's Eve in 1923, the bell was first heard on radio. On New Year's Eve in 1949, it and the floodlighted clock belfry appeared on television.

The bell was installed during the time that tall, stout Sir Benjamin Hall was serving as Commissioner of Works. He was called Big Ben and members of Parliament named the bell for him.

The clock connected to Big Ben is noted for its accuracy. The clock's mechanism weighs about five tons. Until 1913 it was wound by hand, but since then, an electric motor has wound it. Each of the clock's four faces is lighted from behind by fluorescent lamps.