Interactive Jellyfish Exhibit
January – March 2025, for EDUC237: Learning, Making, Crafting, and Creating, Dr. Victor Lee
Goal
To apply maker education practices and constructionist theory to design and build a playful learning experience using electronics.
Process
This project required the use of some form of electronics, and I chose to incorporate a microcontroller board to create an interactive experience.
Playing around with addressable LEDs on the Adafruit board made me think about bioluminescence and the incredible jellyfish displays at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
This inspired me to use the capacitive touch sensor on the board to allow a young aquarium visitor to interact with a model jellyfish and learn about bioluminescence in deep-sea animals.
Solution
I created the model jellyfish out of gelatin to take advantage of its conductivity. This allowed me to trigger the LEDs via the capacitive touch sensor on the Bluefruit board.
The design of the gelatin jellyfish and the motion of the LEDs are based on the real coloration and bioluminescent behavior of the Red Crown Jelly. Researchers at MBARI have captured amazing footage of this jelly and they believe that it uses its bioluminescent display as a defense mechanism.
To create the jellyfish, I laser-etched a jellyfish image into a sheet of clear acrylic, which I then mounted in front of the Bluefruit board.
Skills
learning experience design
microcontrollers
electronics & digital fabrication
Outcome
I created and presented my interactive display, titled “Hello Jelly!”, designed for young children to learn about deep sea creatures in a tactile way.
I shared “Hello Jelly!” at a Maker Pub Night for the Graduate School of Education community to experience. Visitors were invited to touch the jelly in the dish and peek through the porthole to say hello to a deep-sea jelly!
When visitors touched the gelatin jellyfish, the LED lights suggest the defense behavior of the real jellyfish that the display is based on.