The general focus of my current research has involved an in depth search on building. I have always been a very visual learner and for that reason I went straight to YouTube to look for waterscreen tutorials. My research goal was to figure out what kind of materials would make the most sense for my project and where I would be able to find those materials. One of the first videos I stumbled upon during my research video was this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odY9NAtjH4o. Towards the beginning of the video, I thought this tutorial would be extremely beneficial for building my first prototype. The water storage area is built with cheap, mostly found at home parts such as water bottle caps, a plastic bin, hot glue, cardboard, etc. Cutting and welding the LEDs looked a little complicated but seemed doable. The really complicated part of this project came when the wires that turned the machine on and off had to be put together. There were no words to this video or written instructions and as a beginner I struggled to comprehend which wire needed to be where and exactly what tools he was using to connect the wires. At the end of the speedy process, the camera view zooms out letting the viewer see the project result and the wires look like a disorganized mess. After looking at all the electric components this project called for I decide to move on from it although I still believe I can incorporate different parts of the video into a smaller scale first prototype for my project.
The next video I ran into during my research process was this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6TCX0jSc7E. This tutorial is a lot more professional and a lot more expensive than the last one. This size waterfall would be ideal but I have fought back and forth a lot between what size I want my screen to be and due to cost it is most likely going to be about half the size of this waterfall. Although this project came out looking super cool, this video is designed to let people know what products were used to make the waterfall, not how to put the pieces together. I planned to keep this video in my bookmarks because the water pressure from the water pump seemed to be the closest to what I want for my screen. A lot of the videos I have watched (including this one) have been waterfalls as opposed to water screens so there was not much of a need for super high water pressure. The point of the high water pressure is to provide crisp, clean video when I project onto the water.
Moving forward, I discovered this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8R5opvNDQ0. This video was more landscape oriented than my indoor project will be but it did offer a lot of external features that I thought would be interesting or useful to incorporate. For example, my first instinct was to just build the exterior out of wood and paint the wood but after watching this video I would love to cover the wood in patriot steel. The steel does a cleaner job of hiding the pipes and making the project look much more together than the wood. This project also had a Mickey in it so you know I had to give it a shout out.
The final video I found and the video I plan to actually follow while building my project is this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5wShk_pV3k (written instructions in the description). This tutorial was perfect for me because the parts are reasonably priced, the project is modular, and there are both written and visual instructions. The written instructions to this tutorial include a lot of helpful tips such as when drilling your water holes it’s better to start with less than more because if you drill too many it will kill the pressure.
I’m super nervous about starting to build this project but I’m also very eager to start the long process of trial and error that comes with learning something new.
For my next period of research, I reached out to Bret for one-on-one training in the Makerspace woodshop. I would like to purchase my water storage bin and the wood for the box around it and begin building my tank. I have a small water pump from my backyard that I may be able to try tinkering with as well although it is extremely old and there are no instructions with it so it may be a bust.
I would really like to find some kind of inspiring or educational reading that relates to my project that helps me remain motivated throughout the process. I have yet to find a reading related to my thesis project that doesn’t feel like I’m reading an instruction manual but I’m still on the hunt.
Side-note: While speaking with the Thirst Project about my thesis proposal, I connected with their school touring director and they are planning to visit the school for a presentation in late March/early April which may be a great way to get students feeling inspired about the water crisis right before the showcase.