MicroKaleidoscope is an organic artwork driven by the subtle kinetics of microscopic creatures. It was developed by myself and Dina Herring as part of our work in the Digital Experience Lab at the Exploratorium.
The original idea emerged when exploring various slides from the Exploratorium's bio lab and filtering the image with off the shelf VJ software (VDMX5). The video above was the first test of this idea and we were absolutely mesmerized how even the most minute motion came to life when mirrored in a kaleidoscope.
MicroKaleidoscope was then developed as an installation for a new Exploratorium evening series, Field of View: Mapping Emerging Media Technologies. Using experimental light microscopes on loan from Fletcher Lab at UC Berkeley, users could create kaleidoscopic artworks combining the live imagery from the microscope along with the real time filtering of the VJ software.
Also unique to the installation was a gallery of microscope slides and objects we curated to explore with clip-on microscopes for mobile devices developed by Fletcher Lab.
One of the happy accidents of the evening was the colored lighting in this area of the museum. Overhead, red, green and blue spotlights physically exhibit additive color mixing. When visitors moved the microscope's small white light source out of the way, ceiling spot lights created colored shadows on the microscopic specimens below.
By giving visitors multiple ways to shape the kaleidoscope in tandem with the constant motion of live specimens, every design was unique.
Ultimately MicroKaleidoscope is about seeing the very small, larger than life, to viscerally feel scale and get lost in the detail of microorganisms. Neither Dina or I are trained in this scientific field and I feel so lucky to be introduced to it by the amazing biologists at the Exploratorium and the creative partnership of all my colleagues.
© 2026 Lowell Robinson
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