This is one of my favorite interactive experiences. I happened upon it while strolling through my neighborhood. Here’s what I saw: Dozens of palm-size rounds of colored construction paper hanging from a tree. Passers-by, like myself, stopped, and noticed handwriting on both sides of each piece of paper. On one side there was a question and on the reverse, an answer. Brilliant! Nearby was a stack of blank paper inviting anyone to write a question, leave it in a box, and return a little while later to find a thoughtful, funny, kind response hanging from the tree. No picture of the tree, but you can imagine the magic and whimsy.
The creator has since turned the “tree” into a more practical free-standing kiosk. Colored paper hanging from limbs was more beautiful and fanciful, but a human-made structure works just as well.
Here’s what I love: it’s engaging to kids and adults and everyone in between, always changing, dependent on participants, intriguing to question writers and readers, it sparks introspection and curiosity, inspires us to think about other peoples concerns, and it’s incredibly simple – 0 watts. Of course, none of this would work if the responses weren’t so thoughtful. Check out Wheel Questions to read some of the questions and answers.
