Tacoma, WA
092524
UPS DMS

Museums to Minds: Dynamic Installation Design
The Net
[Cord, Thread, Wire, Acrylic, Stepper Motor, ESP32-WROOM]

Concept

Science is difficult. Phenomena of the world embodied around us become inaccessible due to lexical difficulty. Journal articles that reveal the secrets of biology and chemistry are barely legible to even those within a different area of the same subdiscipline. How are museums supposed to convey concepts in a satisfactory manner to patrons that range from age 6 to a PhD? The answer is curiosity. Museums design spaces where curiosity and exploration become primary, and text and literature become supplemental. foremost in this effort is the inclusion of interactive and dynamic displays, that create hands on or immersive experiences for patrons. When concepts become tangible, they no longer require such complex language to understand. The Net is designed to display three dimensional data in a way that draws people in. It creates a space where people can ask questions and find answers.

Pictured is the function f(x,y) = x^2 - y^2, a hyperbolic parabola, or saddle shape. The critical point, where the slope of the net is zero in all directions, is a point of stability. This graph is produced in electromagnetic levitation stabiltiy calcuations, as stable levitation hopes to remain on the critical point. This is just one example of the functions that The Net can image.

Process

The Net is constructed from 720 ft of Macrame Cord suspended by upholstery thread tied to a series of knots along the grid. Each thread is connected to a stepper motor controlled by a ESP32-WROOM microcontroller. Motor movements are choreographed by code in Arduino IPE and Processing 4, and represent functions in the form f(x,y).