Ready Set Stack!
an interactive building block experience designed to bring joy and stress relief to CMU students through childhood play.
Large glowing blocks that react to touch encourage students to build together through fun building prompts.
Team
Duration
Role
Tools
Joy Leung
4 weeks
Creative Technologist
Arduino, laser cutting, html
KEY INTERACTIONS
Visitors press a button to cycle through building prompts.
Touching the blocks triggers responsive color shifts, creating a joyful interaction.
Use the prompts to rearrange the blocks and have fun.
BLOCK STRUCTURE
Each block is a self-contained light module. A laser-cut wood frame holds diffusing film to soften the LEDs. Conductive tape covers the block to create a large touch surface. When the touch sensor detects contact, it signals the Arduino to change the LED strip’s color.
A GLIMSPE OF THE PROCESS
REFLECTION
This was the first public experience I’ve worked on, and it meant so much to me. Building everything from scratch, including laser cutting, soldering, and setting up 10 individually powered Arduino systems, was the first time I brought all of my technical skills into a project meant to be experienced by the public.

Seeing people on campus stop by and play with the installation made me so happy. I cannot fully describe how meaningful it was when people told me they felt like they became a child again while interacting with it. (exactly the feeling we hoped to create!!)

The project was not without challenges. On the morning of the show, we ran into a major technical issue and had to restructure part of the interaction at the last minute. It was stressful making changes so close to the deadline, but I am really glad we pushed through because the experience still turned out great.

Lastly, I am incredibly grateful for all the support we received from so many different departments at CMU. And a huge thank you to my amazing teammate JOY🥹 This project would not have been possible without her.
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