During my time at CERN, I was approached by the then-leader of IdeaSquare to build an exhibition-style particle detector based on my thesis work. I designed and built a mini prototype: a 3D-printed detector connected to a PCB with LEDs that visually represented where energy signatures were passing, linked to a laptop running analysis software which updated individual voxels in real time. I designed my first PCBs (which initially failed spectacularly) and iterated until working — a lot of effort, a lot of fun. I also designed bespoke casings for the detector to isolate it for the public exhibition. That setup now forms part of an exhibition at IdeaSquare, though some of the more expensive components remain reserved for actual experimental use and are not publicly accessible.
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