John Behm
Engineering Portfolio
Hi! I'm John. I love to learn how things work, so that I can make things that work. Please explore some of the projects I've worked on.
Museum Exhibits
I've been volunteering at the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery since 2024, and recently began working on refreshing and expanding some of the exhibits, with the goals of increasing reliability and improving guest experiences.
Little Shop of Physics
As an intern at Colorado State University's Little Shop of Physics, I helped develop and present hands-on science experiments to kids in our community.
Water Cube
This is an interactive exhibit with eight water jets controlled by visitors via handles on the outside of a large glass cube. The water streams hit wheels, levers, and instruments to create motions and sounds.The most pressing issues that needed to be addressed were:
+ Water pressure and cleanliness
+ Nozzle reliability
+ Water leakage
+ Adding a sound system
Match that Tone
This exhibit gives guests the opportunity to test their pitch recognition. A target pitch is played for a short duration, then the guest uses a dial to try to match that pitch.The goal of this revamp is to update/modernize the interface of the exhibit, as well as to add features to increase guest engagement.
Pump and Filter
Flow tests confirmed that the pump and reservoir system were appropriately sized. We rerouted some of the tubing to alleviate concerns for pinch points.To ensure water cleanliness and clarity, an ultraviolet pond filter was added inline to replace a previously broken filter. The filter is properly rated for the pump's flow rate.
Nozzles and Leakage
The original nozzles were composed of several metal pieces, and repeatedly fell apart over time. Our biggest goal for the nozzle redesign was to simplify them and minimize the number of needed parts. We decided that 3D printing the nozzles would be a good solution. The nozzle design has gone through several revisions to address water pressure, hose interface issues, and leakage considerations.One of the major concerns we were initially presented with was the fact that water could easily leak through the holes where the handles pass through the cube. To remedy this, we decided to incorporate a plastic "boot" to shield the ball joint.
Sound System
The water cube incorporates many interactive musical elements. Without amplification, most of the sounds are difficult, if not impossible to hear through the glass panes and in a busy museum setting. To remedy this, we placed a microphone in one corner of the cube and added speakers on both sides of the cabinet. We incorporated a high-pass filter to remove most of the background noise of the pump and water streams.
Color Confusion
Interns at the Little Shop of Physics help to develop new experiments and demonstrations. My favorite demonstration I built was "Color Confusion". It demonstrates how we perceive color based on the wavelengths of light that are reflected off of objects.