Souter Lighthouse – Interactive Tables

Souter Lighthouse was built in 1871 by Trinity House to add additional navigation for shipping on the North East coast. A technological marvel of its age, the lighthouse guarded the coast for over 100 years before being decommissioned in 1988. Now managed by the National Trust, the Lighthouse is open to the public, welcoming families to explore the grade II listed building and the surrounding Leas. I worked with the team to design and produce two activity tables, explaining how a lighthouse works, and the change in technology across the lighthouse’s 150 year tenure.

A board game challenges visitors to ‘keep the light shining’ for a day. Players learn about the three different ways the light is generated; originally a carbon arc lamp, changing to an incandescent bulb in the early 20th century, and finally an electric bulb in the 1950s.

The second table was split into four section, and helped visitors learn about how the lighthouse signalled to ships on the coast. A ‘significantly’ large speaker underneath the table provided visitors the opportunity to sound the foghorn – something kids took great delight in trying out!