Let it Snow

Let It Snow is an interactive installation that places the viewer inside a wintery multiverse. A snow globe perched on a pedestal, when shaken, projects falling snow into the surrounding space. Inside the globe, a never-ending nested world can be seen. A recursive scene that raises the question... are you at the top level, or is someone shaking your world too?

This project was an opportunity to explore several new fabrication techniques and concepts. The snow globe itself was more challenging than expected, primarily due to the difficulty of achieving a reliable watertight seal and engineering a liquid mixture that produced realistic snowfall. It also provided an excuse to learn lathe work, which I used to create a refined wooden pedestal topper for the globe to sit in.

The base of the globe houses an ESP32 that wirelessly transmits accelerometer data to a decorative house in the background containing a computer and projector. When the globe is moved, the projected environment responds in real time with snow falling relative to the shaking speed. Integrated lighting within the globe illuminates the internal “santaception” scene.