The Floor is Lava
Engaging the public in volcanic risk
Following on from the Output Art's successful collaboration with University of East Anglia with Flow and Nest in 2019, we have worked again with UEA and with Oxford University to produce a science engagement installation that introduces people to the risks – and rewards – of living with a volcano.
The Floor is Lava is an interactive game using a custom, illuminated floor and sound effects to engage participants in considering the potential upside of working fertile volcanic soil and the cost of uprooting your life in the event of an eruption or gas outflow.
The work was debuted at Norwich Science Festival in February 2023 as part of the two universities' joint Sensing Volcanoes exhibit (within which it is titled The Imaginarium) and then later featured at the Royal Society Science Fair in London in July. Sensing Volcanoes was shortlisted for the Oxford University Vice Chancellor's Award for Research Engagement 2024.