Happy Little Pixels

Happy Little Pixels is an educational interactive experience intended to use exploration and play to teach participants about the additive colour theory of light. Just as all paintings are made up of pigments comprised of combinations of three primary colours, all digital media are made up of pixels comprised of combinations of three colours of light. Online videos, games, and our profile pictures are all really just flashes of red, green, and blue light.
Happy Little Pixels encourages participants to discover how light can be mixed to create a full spectrum of colours through a hands-on, tactile experience. Participants use a palette that holds light instead of pigment to combine different amounts of red, green, and blue light. At a technical level, they are changing the voltage to three LEDs, just like monitors and screens do. Participants then use a Wiimote game controller to "paint" a digital scene with colours they created on their palette.