Light Rods

Light Table

Creation 

I decided on the light rod/fiber optic concept. For the last class period I had created and explored bending acrylic with both the oven and the heat gun. I had widths of rods that were .5, .75 and 1 in in diameter and I had lengths differing from a foot to 6 foot. I was sure that I wanted to pursue the idea of shinnying laser at these rods and exploring there fiber optic qualities but I was unsure about how I was going to create a controlled exploration for my user. I did some user testing and needed to find a way to control the laser. 

Light Table

I decided on the design to the left. I thought the idea of having a table with holes in it that you shine lights through would cause the user to be more surprised when the light exited at the end of the tube.  I also like the idea of a very neat structure on top and a crazy mess below that becomes more logical once a hole is shined on.  The table structure also gives the laser controlled motion and suggests the behavior that I want to happen at this exhibit.  Sebastian was very helpful in coming up with this idea and made the suggestion of the laser stands with the bendy piping.
 (Sorry about the picture orientation! The settings are being odd...)

Here is an example of the light table in use.  A red laser has been shined at the top of one of the holes and you can see in exiting the end of the light tube.  A green laser has been shined at the dot (as you can see at the top) and then is going through one of my light tubes.

I left some dots without light rods in them to allow of more unguided exploration and comparing with the rods and without the rods.

User Testing

User testing was pretty successful. The users did what I wanted.  They were pretty excited about the light concept, especially the children. 

The laser holders did limit the turning of the light. Although the did break after the wear and tear of the day. I left one of the circles without a rod in it and one of the users who already understood the fiber optic concept experimented with passing the light quickly over the light rods and noticing an effect similar to Dan's laser exhibit effect.

The explanation piece that goes with my piece was not as successful and I ended up removing it because the batteries in my laser died.  The largest problem with the explanation piece was that it was not separate from the actual piece and users kept taking the explanation laser and  using it with my other piece.

The children also had a hard time with the height of the exhibit, so I brought it down on the floor and they interacted with it more. For my shine I just tried different suggestion for how to shine the lasers. I settle with "shine into the circles."  

Changes
 -get new lasers and new batteries (ordered)
- distinguish the explanation from the actual exhibit
-fix the laser holders and make them way more secure
-signs