Updated information about the sodium experiment. (Score 1)

If you mean the experiment at Dan Lathrop's Nonlinear Dynamics Lab, they are doing succesive experiments with bigger and bigger spheres. Last was with a 60cm one, and now they are working on the 3m version which is the one with 13.5 tons of sodium as you mention. According to their webpage:

The three meter experiment now spins under motor control--watch our YouTube movie! We are debugging the system with water as a test fluid, and will soon make Lagrangian flow measurements in collaboration with colleagues from the group of J. F. Pinton. Sodium experiments will follow. More...

There is an article about them from 2008 at Universe Today, and also other people in France were doing spinning sodium experiments in 2007.