Shy Lights

I chose to observe the shy lights exhibit. The exhibit itself is simple, containing a dark, narrow hallway with several white circles aligned in a line. These circles are illuminated by several lights hanging above. A mirror at the end allows the user to see the lights behind them as they move forward. When a person stands on top of the white circle, a mechanism on the top moves the light to the side, mimicking a “shy” behavior. This exhibit was next to the Mechanical Masterpieces exhibit close to the Attic Room.

The engagement with the exhibit was from a mix of children and adults. Both were interested in the white circles making a path, feeling that they should follow the path on the ground. At one point during my observations, a child ran forward across the path, straight into the mirror. I found this to be an unexpected consequence from the mirror being there. Nonetheless, children seemed excited to see the lights move as they stepped on the circles, often times looking up to see what was happening. I believe that the example of the child running off in front of their parents clearly showed a sense of autonomy, showing that the child can explore the exhibit by themselves without the need of their parent. Adult visitors seemed to encourage their children to go down the path and see what happens.

This particular exhibit did not have any facilitator. Children typically seem to exhibit curiosity in the exhibit when seeing the white circles on the floor in a straight line. This strange setup seems odd and invites exploration. The space itself is dimly lit, with more orange lights from the Attic room. This piece works very well with this aesthetic since the darkness of the room contrasts very nicely with the white circles and white lights. It relates with the other exhibits since it invites the child to observe a phenomena. The Mechanical Masterpieces next to this exhibit allow children to observe the effects of physical action on digitalized paintings, while the Attic contains many observable activities, such as the moving eyes, the gravity room, and the VR puppet exhibit.