Cosmos in the Stacks bees

Project data
Authors	Gabriel Morales Arianna Ramos Anita Schicchi Liam Strusinski
Location	Arcata, United States
Status	Deployed
Made	Yes
Replicated	No
Uses	education, science
OKH Manifest	Download

The bee stacks display area project was done by 4 engineering students at Cal Poly Humboldt in the Spring semester of 2026. The Cal Poly Humboldt library required more visitors to interact and visit the third floor section of the library and more specifically the bee book section. The students goal was to create a space that would invite visitors of the library of all ages to interact with this section of the library. In order to do this the students were tasked with educating visitors about bees as well as creating a comfortable space to study and learn within. The display containing resin is operated by a switch underneath with activates LEDs which light up the resin displays. Below thee displays are informational wood engravings about each of the resins. There is also a desk with privacy dividers on each as well as magnetic bee figurines which lead visitors to the bee stacks.

Background

The bee display and study area was intended to help bring more attention to the bee section of the Cal Poly Humboldt library which are known as stacks. The library's objective was to create more interaction among visitors of all ages within the lesser visited areas of the library stacks such as the bee section. The display and study, was developed by the The Hive Five of Cal Poly Humboldt's Engr. 205 class and was completed May 10th.

Problem statement

The objective of this project is to create an educational study environment and display that educates users and brings attention to the importance of bees in the local environment.

Criteria

The criteria table shows a list of criteria the team decided along with our client. The criteria is ranked from 1 to 10 with 10 being the most important criterion and 1 being the least.

Criteria	Description	Weight (1-10)
Sound	Less than or equal to 50 decibels	10
Durability	Won't need repair for at least 10 years	10
cost	Less than or equal to 250$	8
Maintainability	Requires no extra maintenance other than cleaning.	7
Educational Value	the ability to educated people of all ages about bees	6
Portability	Movable by 3 people or less	5
Public interaciton	At least 2 people per day	5
Time of interaction	greater than or equal to 5 minutes	4

Prototyping

Here are some prototypes made during the design process.

This is a prototype of how we will display the resin displays, what's not included is the light portion. This prototype is for desired purposes. Learned that we may need to adjust for different resin display sizes.
This is a function prototype. This shows us how light passes through the resin displays from below. This is one of the ways to incorporate the resin displays, having them light up within the hexagons.
This is an example of one of the possibilities for a table in the study area. This option includes a divider on the table made with hexagons to represent the honeycomb.

Final product

The final product is shown below, it consists of three hexagonal maple wood frames with inlayed plexiglass. They each contain LEDs which are connected between each and activated by a switch on the far most left one. Each display has a plywood backing which holds the resin displays which are epoxied onto small plexiglass sheets and then onto the plywood backing.

Includes a hexagon frame made out of Maple Wood with LEDs in the color Bright White, lighting up Bee Resin Displays. The back panels, also maple wood, are engraved with the small titles that are on the resins to make it much more readable and accesible.

The following image displays the final desk product which contains a maple plywood cover which was sanded and finished. It then has brackets which hold a hexagonal patterned divider on three surfaces of the desk creating a private study space.

Construction Process

Display

1 Measure and cut frame pieces

For the display case it needs 6 identical pieces cut out in order to assemble a frame. These pieces must have the correct angles in order to fit together and create a hexagon.2

2 Route frame pieces

The next step will be creating space for the plexiglass and LEDs to fit into the display. In order to do this use a router to create an inlay the width of the plexiglass and then a separate inlay the width of the LED strips.

3 Connect pieces

In order to connect the pieces the plexiglass must first be measured and fitted within the frame and then wood glue should be used and once tried screws angled to connect each piece. Following this plywood should be cut out to match the dimensions of the frame.

4 Staining

Stain plywood backboard as well as all frame and then add finished clear coating.

5 LED fitting

The LED should have to exit holes for the wiring to exit and these should be drilled in desired positions depending on the orientation of multiple displays. Following this the LED strip should be put tightly into the frame and glued if necessary.

6 Assemble

Assemble display by nailing plywood backboard to frame and then drill in picture hangers into the back in order to complete the display.

Desk

1 Add plywood to top

Start by adding plywood piece of maple to the top of the desk and rough cut to the shape. Then use a flush trim router to exactly match the dimensions of the desk.

2 Sand and stain

Sand down edges and imperfections on the desk and then add a stain to the entire area. Then add a clear coat finish to protect the wood.

3 Panels

To create the dividing panels laser cut out the hexagonal patter onto 3 pieces of plywood. Once done sand imperfections and stain. Then add a clear coat finish.

4 Assemble

In order to assemble the final product use hinges to attach the three individual panels together.

Video instructions

Bill of materials

Description of costs and total project cost.

Item	Amount	Cost per unit	Total
LED Strip — Get at the thing store	3	USD 22.99	USD 68.97
Maple Plywood — 3' x 2', yellow	1	USD 150.00	USD 150.00
Breadboard Kit	1	USD 8.99	USD 8.99
Electronics Kit	1	USD 8.99	USD 8.99
Maple Wood (2' x 8')	1	USD 19.99	USD 19.99
PrintGrand total			Project cost::USD 256.94

Conclusion

Testing results

For testing results the durability was as expected the wood was sturdy as well as the plexiglass. The display and desk both met the portability requirement of only needing 3 people at most to be transported. Aesthetically the product met all standards and the LED lights created a very visually pleasing effect on the final product.

Discussion

The testing results showed that the Bee Display Area met most of the requirements.

Lessons learned

If The Hive Five was give the opportunity to do the Bee Display Area project again there would be changes such as each display be given its own button for the LED system as well as using different methods such as brackets in order to hold the Resin in place inside of the display cases.

Next steps

Discuss any next steps for the project as it goes on into the future.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Suggestion
LEDs do not turn on	Remove backing and check wire connection and replace if neccesary
Does not turn on	Make sure it is plugged in

Team

The Hive Five from Cal Poly Humboldt's Engineering 205: Intro to Design, Spring Semester '26

References

Page data
Part of	Engr205 Introduction to Design
Keywords	test, keywords
License	CC-BY-SA-4.0
Organizations	Cal Poly Humboldt
Language	English ()
Related	0 subpages, 0 pages link here
Views	51 page views (analytics)
Created	April 23, 2026 by Lonny Grafman
Last edit	September 3, 2026 by Felipe Schenone
Cite as	Lonny, Ltstrusins (2026). "Cosmos in the Stacks bees". Appropedia. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
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