Bend Light and Shadow at LFPL’s STEAM Day with The Dot Experience

As the holidays draw near and the weather grows colder, The Dot Experience is getting ready for its final Connect the Dots event, powered by the PNC Foundation. Stretch your scientific curiosity about how light and shadow work and join us for STEAM Day at South Central Regional LFPL on November 1st from 11 AM-3 PM. 

Light and shadow play an integral role in our perceptions of the surrounding world. People who are blind or low vision experience them differently from the typically sighted individual. Participants in our program will be guided through hands-on experiments to explore how light and shadow are formed, how the eye processes what we see, and how people who are blind or low vision interact with light in unique ways. 

The Dot Experience team will set up three stations for visitors. After closing any curtains and turning off the lights, guests will walk to each one. The first station is a light source scramble. Participants will use different lights to view pictures and read books to see which one works the best. Flashlights, tea lights, button push lights, and reading lights will be available to test out. 

Shadows can be created in many ways. The second station allows visitors to use the same light sources alongside multiple objects, including blocks, colanders, slotted spoons, and more, to make shadows. They will experiment with the shadows’ shapes and sizes and see if they can produce ones that are darker or lighter. Moving shadows along a table or wall will also demonstrate how an environment can be modified with the use of light and shadow.  

Participants will use light sources to produce color at the final station. Cellophane, fabric, tissue paper, and colored tiles will be available to allow for open exploration. Mix colors together to produce different colored light and see how a favorite color can appear darker or lighter depending on the light source. 

After everyone finishes rotating through the stations, they will be asked to go through them again while wearing APH’s See Like Me: Low Vision Simulators. With the look and feel of standard safety glasses, the simulators each represent an eye condition. By moving from station to station and trying on numerous simulators, guests can compare how they see light and shadow and how someone who is blind or low vision interacts with it. An exercise in empathy, this part of the program also helps underscore how types of light and shadow can add to or hinder the environment of a person who is blind or low vision.  

In our final activity, visitors will design and create their own Swirly Mat, an APH product used to support children with Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI). Made of veggie glycerin, food coloring, glitter, and a tiny resin creature mixed together in a plastic bag, this fun project helps guests understand how our brain and eyes work with one another to make sense of the world. 

We can’t wait to see you at STEAM Day at South Central Regional LFPL on November 1st from 11 AM-3 PM!