The Backyard is Lava!

Interactive Exhibit

A site for NASA experiments, a winery, a village, a music video location–even sleeping volcanoes have unexpected stories down their slopes or within their magma chambers.
The Backyard is Lava! is a research project that looks back at mankind’s relationship with volcanoes over the last century, hoping to incite in children curiosity and excitement towards physical geography and the ways peoples’ lives might be shaped and influenced by the where their homes' longitudes and latitudes lie. Today, close to 350 million people worldwide stay within ‘danger range’ of an active volcano.
This interactive project casts a spotlight on five volcanoes from varying spots on the globe. Exhibition visitors are encouraged to interact with the map; by reading through one of the booklets found in a laser cut volcano stand, visitors are given a clue as to the volcano’s position on the map. If the volcano is correctly placed, it will be magnetised to its place, providing a kinesthetic response.

Each of the volcanoes from different tectonic plates comes with an illustrated and brightly coloured booklet that relays facts about its geography as well as anecdotes and stories relating to life near it.