The goal of this thesis project is to work with children’s hospitals in the valley to develop unique exhibits or artifacts that would help children and families feel less anxious during hospital visits and stays. We would like these artifacts to encourage children to feel safe and happy by sparking fun moments that would evolve into cheerful memories. Overall, we created an LED Light Up Message Board, that will allow children the ability to reduce stress and help express themselves. We created the PCBs to make the letters light up and be easy enough to plug into the board so that the children can create messages on it.

Theatrical lighting design currently struggles to keep pace with the cutting edge of technology. Theatre equipment needs to be durable, repairable, and intuitive far more than it needs to concern itself with high data throughput or formal network connections. Because of this, current signal protocols, of which DMX512 is the most common, use physical interfaces and signal protocols differing from a standard ethernet connection. Very few lighting fixtures have an RJ-45 port to accept an ethernet connection, requiring signal conversion at some point within the signal flow for compatibility. The natural solution to this scenario is simple and already implemented: electronic boxes which accept a cable input, convert the signal and offer an output in a new protocol. Contributing to this system flow solution, I propose a design of a converter box with modular ports and configurations. Using a central embedded computer running driving firmware, the user can adapt the box to the networking needs of a given production.

Build. Learn. Repeat. The three core actions of Tanagons, a learning kit designed for the K-6 classroom in teaching kids about the "other Rs" of sustainability: repair, repurpose, and reimagine. By examining societal trends related to these new approaches to waste management, along with considerations of current K-6 curriculum guidelines and how to optimize learning while following them, Tanagons creates a more comprehensive and engaging learning experience of this complex topic in hopes of preparing children to be more conscious individuals in the mission for sustainability.