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MoMA Design Store to fill windows with littleBits

April 9, 2013

LittleBits, the open hardware start-up, has been invited to take over the windows of MoMA Design Stores in New York City from today through May 12. LittleBits is a library of electronics that snap together with magnets to inspire invention and problem-solving and has been dubbed "LEGO for the iPad generation," according to the announcement.

The two window displays, titled "littleBits Make Big Things Happen," feature 4-foot-tall kinetic sculptures made of wood, cardboard and acrylic animated with "Bits" measuring less than 1 inch square. The installation required no programming, no wiring, and no soldering — just sensors, switches, lights and motors snapping together with magnets, the announcement said.

While the displays are up, small-scale replicas of the window projects can be found inside the Midtown and SoHo Design Stores and in-store demos will be take place throughout the month of April.

MoMA Design Store and MoMAstore.org locations began carrying littleBits kits in January 2013 following the acquisition of littleBits for the Museum's design collection and the inclusion of littleBits in the MoMA exhibition Talk to Me: Design and the Communication between People and Objects.

"This is the first time we have attempted to create such large scale installations with littleBits," said Ayah Bdeir, littleBits founder & CEO. "Something as remarkable as a giant shark swimming after a tiny lure, or a cyclist turning a large Ferris wheel 10 times her size are at once iconic and familiar but absolutely distinctive in how we have merged two worlds, the world of art, and that of electronics. We are thrilled to have the encouragement and support of the world's foremost art and design store to take on this crazy experiment."

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