This Giant Lite-Brite Lights Up Kids’ Faces at the Autism Center of Nebraska

If you were a child anytime in the past 50 years, there is a good chance you’ve had the pleasure of playing with a Lite-Brite. Originally released by Hasbro in 1967, Lite-Bite is a kid’s toy that illuminates colorful translucent pegs that are placed in holes arranged in a grid to create pictures or designs. Lite-Brite is fun to play with no matter what your age, so it was perfect for an exhibition at Omaha’s KANEKO education center.

For the exhibition, KANEKO commissioned technologist Jason Webb to build a gigantic three-dimensional version of the classic toy. Webb’s take on the Lite-Brite is a huge 4' x 8' x 4' collection of four irregularly-shaped plywood faces that are illuminated from behind. The entire installation was designed in Autodesk Fusion 360, with the frame constructed from welded steel and the panels CNC routed with a total of more than 4,600 holes for the pegs.

The pegs themselves are 1/2" acrylic rods cut to 2" lengths. When they’re inserted into the boards, they push aside a rubber flap so that light can shine through. When they’re pulled back out, the flap falls back into place to block the light. After many, many hours of labor to cut the parts, paint them, and assemble everything, Webb installed the oversize Lite-Brite at the KANEKO center. Over the three-month exhibition run, it helped to attract the largest crowds KANEKO has ever recorded. Now it resides at the Autism Center of Nebraska, where it will continue to entertain children for years.