Special Topics | David Matthews
This course challenges students to design a public exhibit for the future Knoxville Science Museum on the physics of cosmic rays, requiring it to inspire and engage a broad audience, and my team focuses on representing cosmic rays as a point. We collaboratively design a 12×12” cube with a mirrored bottom panel, four dichroic panels, and a black-painted wood block drilled at varying angles. A 3D-printed form allows easy panel interchangeability, along with 3D-printed half-circle mounts for strip LEDs. An Arduino controls the LEDs in a programmed sequence, turning lights on and off along the strip. This animated “point” of light serves as a visual metaphor for the path a cosmic ray might take through the box.