The Water Drop Dome Project will be a large-scale art installation at the 2022 Halloween Art & Nature Festival hosted by the Atelier de la Nature near Arnaudville, Louisiana. This year's theme will be space related, and one of the featured species will be tardigrades, commonly known as “water bears” or “moss piglets.” These tiny creatures can live inside a local water drop, but can also survive in extreme environments such as deep ocean or even the vacuum of space! 

As the centerpiece of the festival, I will be building a dome that will represent a drop of water within which tardigrades could be found. The entry of the installation will house information exhibits where participants will learn about tardigrades and their environment by viewing instructional posters with text and photos, talking with the scientist/guide, and viewing examples through microscopes. The passageway between the portal and the dome will be an experiential (sight, sound, touch) journey as participants shrink down to tardigrade size!

Once inside the dome, participants will view sculptures of plants, animals, and other objects of their accurate scale sizes, relative to the giant drop of water dome that contains them. Also within the dome, children will be provided with hands-on art activities and materials to create their own creative representations of life within a water drop.