Lighting Laurel Hill

Industrial Design Students light up Laurel Hill Cemetery

Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic cemetery located in East Falls, Philadelphia, right down the street from Jefferson University. Founded in 1836, it was the second major cemetery in the country. Every year, Laurel Hill Cemetery hosts its annual Soul Crawl. The Soul Crawl features flashlight tours along winding, dimly-lit paths, focusing on the cemetery’s rich history and the spirits buried within. The lighting for public experience class, taught by Lyn Godley, was asked for the second year in a row to help light up the cemetery.

MCDOWELL Statue, Lighting display designed by Zane Shalchi, Charles Barilo and McKenna Burns

The students learned how to wire and code a sequenced light show using a variety of color changing lights. In addition, some groups also added sounds and music, to transform the dark cemetery into a night time spectacle, highlighting some of Laurel Hill’s and the country’s oldest statues.

Zane Shalchi, a junior industrial design student says, “It was a thrilling and dynamic way to connect to and with the people of the community.”

MCDOWELL Statue, Lighting display designed by Zane Shalchi, Charles Barilo and McKenna Burns  

The event is one of the largest fundraisers for the cemetery. This year over 800 people attended the two-day event. The students worked on the light shows as part of a class project in two lighting courses taught by Lyn Godley, associate professor of industrial design. The courses are part of a lighting concentration in the industrial design program.