Lots of running around and I got an email saying that the time, day, and venue of a class had changed.. So quick, adjust! I had a great time during coffee hour with the modern language society in between classes and after attended a Neuroscience seminar. This seminar was really interesting as Dr. Paul Young was visiting from another Irish University (University College Cork) and he spoke about his SLICK method and neural circuits (to keep it short for ya).
The most interesting and funniest part of the day was between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. I was a guerrilla!
A light guerrilla, that is! At The Science Gallery on Trinity’s campus, also below my apartment, there are exhibitions every few months. This month is LIGHTWAVE. After coming from the neuro lecture and spotting a classmate we stopped to chat outside the Science Gallery and before we knew it we had agreed to volunteer 30 minutes of our time to explore the LIGHTWAVE gallery. This is what we were told, but really it was a 3.5 hour experience, but fun all the same. As part of the debut of this exhibition, there was a company that works to conserve light energy while also introducing ways to light buildings up at night for an aesthetically pleasing city. Other cities in which they have their “guerrilla lights” on include London and Glasglow and a few others.
The purpose of the mission: light up Dublin. So, my friend and I were given a badge (Team 2, Guerrilla 4) and followed our leader outside where we were handed “torches” (huge flashlights) and colored filters. Our first stop was to light up Ulster Bank which faces the Liffey, there was a huge number of people watching this spectacle and of course it started raining once I was instructed where I was to hold my large flashlight for the next few minutes. While each of us “light guerrillas” were put into position, photographers and videographers were capturing the scene. A horn went off and we all turned our lights on, by the number of people stopping and staring, it must have looked pretty cool. Our next stop was to then light up the front of Trinity College, by the Front Arch- I even got to stand on the grass in front of Trinity that you’re not allowed to stand on! I know, doesn’t sound that huge of a deal- but believe me, it is.
After being a bit freezing, yes, it was still raining, we joined the reception at the Science Gallery and were treated to drinks and starters. Yum! After that, our last stop was to light up St. Mark’s Church right across from the Gallery. By that time, it was around 9 p.m and I was exhausted but thought what a random volunteer experience that turned out to be really interesting. Had it not been for my neuro seminar, meeting my classmate and love for the Science Gallery, I wouldn’t have this funny story to tell.
FYI- the pictures of the buildings we lit up, may be on the web, so when I find them I’ll attach the link and be able to show which part of the buildings I lit up! Haha.