It is no secret that I am a very sentimental person, as the clothes I wear and even some of the tattoos I have represent shows/video games that I enjoyed as a child. Things like walking past my freshman dorm or having my “last first day” as a college student always emit some kind of emotional response, and I don’t think I’ll be changing that part of me anytime soon.
So when it came to my final project, I thought it would be fitting to build a cardboard ferris wheel, with the aesthetic being nostalgia. Now, I understand that nostalgia is a very general term that could be applied in many different contexts and project. However, I want to make this project a bit more personal since it will be displayed in my home. The cabins that usually hold people will be replaced with some of my favorite photos from my youth. I grew up in a suburb a bit west of Chicago called Downers Grove, and I have been moving from place to place since my junior year of high school. I learned to swim in a pool that’s now since been paved over, joined a Girl Scout troop that has been disbanded, and so many more fond memories that I can no longer experience in my hometown. Granted, there are still many great things about Downers Grove that are still around, but being 1,000 miles from home still gets me a little homesick from time to time.
The Ferris wheel itself also adds to the nostalgia factor, since Downers Grove would hold a little fair every summer complete with rides, food, face-painting, and other carnivalesque things. Not to mention the Navy Pier Ferris wheel, which is an iconic part of its skyline.
I plan to use a lot of cardboard, a 9-volt battery, some simple circuitry, and paper-printed photos for the full assembly. The cardboard can be acquired from the multiple amazon boxes that come to my door. I have never made something like this before, and often I am not the neatest when it comes to precision cuts, so hopefully it turns out nice and uniform! I will be following a YouTube tutorial (not sure which one yet!), and my final product will resemble the example below.
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Your cardboard ferris wheel project with a nostalgic theme is inspiring. In place of the cabins, your intention to display their favorite photos from your youth and add simple circuitry is very interesting.
This project is so creative and original! I think that it’s really nice that you’re leaning into the sentimentality with the project shape/form itself also reflecting where you grew up in conjunction with the pictures. Are you trying to go after a specific Ferris wheel? Or just a general one? Are you concerned about the quality of the cardboard boxes? As in if they’re too beat up from transit?
Hi Sam, this is a very cool idea! I like that you are making it so personal and it seems like a project that you can enjoy over and over again because of that. Have you thought about also trying to go for some kind of theme park or Disney aesthetic? That’s a bit what a ferris wheel reminds me of and I would imagine that if you wanted to you could decorate/paint the carboard in a way that gives off that aesthetic, as well. Good luck, excited to see the final product!