We are taking measurements for the wave tank as we speak. Getting the mechanics right will be a bit of a challenge within our exhibit space. We went over to The Hinsdale Wave Lab on Thursday to look at their tanks and discuss the physics. Nothing replaces talking to the experts—we learned a lot. The challenge is to create a properly scaled environment with properly scaled waves. It’s just a matter of figuring out how to create a realistic model with a maximum length of 25 feet. Easy as that.

We’re considering some major upgrades to the Magic Planet, which will prepare it for the upcoming work we will do with a larger remote sensing exhibit space. Greater luminosity and a more robust cooling system will be huge enhancements and mitigate some maintenance issues.

The hunt for an ideal eye-tracking system continues, but we are getting close to what we want. Apart from how accurately and elegantly a system tracks eye movement, we must consider how it collects and exports data. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for the conclusion of Katie’s eye-tracking adventure, which she began in the last post.

In the meantime, we now have a Twitter feed: @FreeChoiceLab