The College of Fine Arts’ program in arts technology (ATK) hosted an Arts Technology Day on April 23 at the Children’s Discovery Museum. Undergraduate ATK students presented interactive exhibits created in their Computer Arts Performance (ATK 260) course to children visiting the museum. The exhibits included a light-and-sound exploration, a projection of celestial bodies, a jungle-themed musical mural, and an infinity-mirror foosball table.
The Audio Ocular Echo exhibit utilized Max/MSP, a webcam, and a laser-cut acrylic box to allow users to slide colored panels in front of a white light. When a new color was picked up by the webcam, a corresponding video and audio component began playing. The creators of this project were Daniel Bennett, Ian Dierks, Austin Hart, Kevin Head, Rachel Herrman, and Michael Richards.
The Solar System Exploration exhibit used a projector and a Leap Motion to allow users to cycle through pictures of and information about each planet. By making a circular motion with their pointed finger, users caused one planet to move off screen and another to take its place. The creators of this project were Tim Bakke, Kyle Downey, Michael Genson, Eric Jordan, Lauren Kapraun, Ion Taflan, and School of Music graduate student Mario Silva.
The Jungle Boogie exhibit used Processing and a MakeyMakey to allow users to turn on different musical tracks by pressing buttons built into a mural of a jungle scene. Each musical track incorporated the sound and characteristics of its corresponding animal. The creators of this project were Brendan Antonacci, Chase Granat, Rachel Koesser, Emma Lefley, Matthew Limon, Timothy Recio, Nathan Schiavone, Hillary Ulman, and Alex Zarek.
The Fuzeball exhibit was a foosball table that incorporated Arduino-controlled LED strips and laser-cut space-themed players—astronauts versus aliens. The table is encased by two large sheets of acrylic with one-way film on the inside face of each, causing an “infinity mirror” effect with the LED strips and LED foosball. The creators of this project were Cullen Coursey, Ernie Gardner, Hayden Hanson, Ryan Interrante, Andrew Jacobs, and Prince Rana.
The event marked the beginning of a collaboration effort between the Children’s Discovery Museum and the arts technology program, making interactive technology accessible to children.
