Collaborations with Scientists
One of the main goals of the Luminous Science project is to explore new scientific representations; including the affordances and limitations of different materials and how those representations get used. In parallel to re-imaging possible scientific representations in disciplinary classrooms that students create, we wanted to examine how professional scientists might engage with, make, and discuss non-traditional representations of scientific findings. The following are collaborations with graduate student scientists where we explore how representations, including luminous science lanterns could be used to teach, communicate, and challenge current stagnate representational practices.
One of the main goals of the Luminous Science project is to explore new scientific representations; including the affordances and limitations of different materials and how those representations get used. In parallel to re-imaging possible scientific representations in disciplinary classrooms that students create, we wanted to examine how professional scientists might engage with, make, and discuss non-traditional representations of scientific findings. The following are collaborations with graduate student scientists where we explore how representations, including luminous science lanterns could be used to teach, communicate, and challenge current stagnate representational practices.
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Luminous Yeast
The luminous yeast project is an interdisciplinary collaboration between Lila Finch and Zach Wilson, a doctoral student in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at CU Boulder. Zach studies a poorly understood, but essential, signaling molecule in fungal, plant, and animal cells. He conducted rigorous genetic experiments in yeast cells to investigate and determine a model for PI(3,5)P2 function. Together we designed lanterns to represent the data collected on 10 different yeast strains. The lanterns provide an opportunity for viewers to recreate the discovery process that led to the model of PI(3,5)P2 function in cells. We are currently examining how these lanterns can be used to explore and expand scientific communication and educational practices. So far the lanterns have been used in group meeting presentations and conference poster sessions. They are currently being housed in the Norlin Library on the CU Boulder campus as a part of placing 2nd in a campus wide data visualization contest (see the article here). |
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Collaborations with the Community
Another aspect of our work is to explore how scientific ideas can be conveyed and explored by the general public. We are interested in investigating how families and young children interact with new forms of scientific representation and participate in the creation of new representations. The following collaborations are with the general public.
Another aspect of our work is to explore how scientific ideas can be conveyed and explored by the general public. We are interested in investigating how families and young children interact with new forms of scientific representation and participate in the creation of new representations. The following collaborations are with the general public.
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Luminous Microtubule Dynamics
In collaboration with participants at the CU Boulder Museum of Natural History's STEAM Fest Family Fun Day at CU South Boulder we created a ~5 foot sculpture representing microtubule dynamics. Throughout the five hour event families with children as young as 5 years-old came and added to the sculpture. Rules for the lighting and sculpture pieces followed a model of the dynamics of microtuble formation, stabilization, and catastrophe. Participants made "tubulin" sections to add to the microtubules. They discovered how rearrangement and catastrophe might work in the cell, and how these ideas might relate to human made structures (e.g. roads). |
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The Laboratory for Playful Computation is part of the ATLAS Institute at the University of Colorado Boulder.