Dana-Farber Cancer Institute | Zebrafish Display

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Zebrafish Display

How do you create major change through the small efforts of many?

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute was looking to commission an installation that would allow them to allow donors to express why they are dedicated to cancer research. They were hoping to find a concept that would both evoke emotional responses from their donors, and tie into their mission of continuing to advance innovative oncology research.
The zebrafish, a model organism for genomics and oncology research, became the focal point of the display and a visual metaphor for how many small donations can come together to create major change.
Sitara Systems developed an interactive sculpture with 477 3d-printed zebrafish. Each zebrafish has embedded LEDs and a donor’s personal message inscribed on it; a simple interaction with your mobile device causes the wall’s patterns to change and to show the donor’s personal message on a nearby screen.

Zebrafish Display

For decades, Dana-Farber investigators have turned to zebrafish as a powerful research model. The genes of this tiny tropical fish are remarkably like those of humans, allowing them to play a key role in the discovery of lifesaving therapies. For this reason, the zebrafish became a key element in the design of this installation.

The original installation featured 477 3d-printed zebrafish with personal inscriptions and on-screen messages honoring patients, caregivers, and loved ones. Each 3d-printed fish responds to physical touch via onboard, custom-built capacitive sensors; whenever a fish is touched, the corresponding message is displayed on a screen on the wall.

For the 2021 update, the custom capacitive touch sensors were replaced in all 477 fish with passive NFC tags. The NFC tag can be scanned by any modern phone, and immediately loads the loved one’s donor message on the visitor’s mobile device. The interaction also triggers the Zebrafish Display, which responds with an illumination sequence and a display of the donor message on the nearest wall mounted screen.