“Full Sails” at Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History
“Full Sails” is an interactive installation built in the lobby of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History, which pulls paper money donations through curved tubing into a glass porthole, and then inflates sails and lights them up as a reward. While its purpose is to accept cash donations to support the museum, it also pays tribute to Santa Cruz’s history of sailmaking and shipbuilding.
The museum commissioned local glass sculptor Biagio Scarpello to design and fabricate the installation and freelance museum technologist Jason Alderman to collaborate on electronic sensors and interactivity, both working with exhibition designer Justin Collins. They used a single Arduino with a Museduino shield and four satellite boards to control three fans, three sets of lights, a dust collector vacuum, a control switch, and two infrared sensors. The project was developed and completed in six months, and has been running continuously since 2017.