Some time ago I started working with mirrors as a medium to explore - scratching the silver off the back of the mirror to let light through and with help from one of our youth team managers here at the museum, Cindy, I also learned about acid etching on the glass surface...

I made this diorama as a gift for a friend, using the guts of a battery-operated toy (one of the ones with lots of sounds and lights). When you look in the box and push the button on the side, LEDs flash on and off and illuminate a scene of UFOs and planets. The idea bubbled out of lots of toy taking-apart, and a Michel Gondry movie called Three Dead People. I could pretty much use the toy as it was, but with a few adjustments.

This winter, we did a Saturday workshop called "Squeezable Circuits". The kids (ten of them, 9-12 years old) made their own squeeze-triggered circuits, and then used motors, lights, buzzers, and a variety of recycled and craft materials to create creatures that came alive when you squeezed a glove. This project was inspired by California artist Bernie Lubell and work he did with Mike and Karen at the Exploratorium. The workshop lasted three hours.