Retired Lab Equipment Remade Into High-Tech Board Game
Published: January 09, 2026
Author: Dave Bell
A project that rescued a retired scientific machine from the dustbin and transformed it into an interactive board game was unveiled during Greenville University’s Common Day of Scholarship in December.
The aging machine – a UV-Vis spectrometer – had been replaced by a newer model several years earlier. But it was still sitting on a shelf in Snyder Hall when biology majors Quela Minard ’26 and Abby Grohmann ’27 spotted it.
“We didn’t have a grand idea when we started,” said Minard. “But both of us needed a project for an independent study. It involved a lot of trial and error, and we eventually found a way to turn it into an interactive game.”
“We chose the machine because the ultraviolet light is visible,” Grohmann said. “We figured we could create a more interesting game because of that characteristic.”
Before its conversion into a board game, the spectrometer was used in medical and scientific fields to measure concentrations of various chemicals in solutions. Those readings were obtained by shining light through a sample and measuring the amount of light absorbed at each wavelength.
To make the laser beam more visible, Minard and Grohmann replaced the spectrometer’s metal top with a clear Plexiglass cover and added a miniature fog machine. They named the game the Spectacular Spectrum Showdown.
According to the game’s rules, each player has a different-colored laser pen, which they point into the spectrometer case when it’s their turn. The beam bounces back and forth through the case via a series of mirrors, but its path is blocked at various points by removable opaque “doors.” Players take turns answering questions printed on cards; if they answer correctly, they may roll a die. Rolling an even number allows the player to remove one of the doors blocking the laser beam. A player is declared the winner when their laser beam passes through the case multiple times and illuminates an epoxy figurine.
“We based the game on other games we were familiar with,” Minard said. “It turned out to be a combination of card, dice, and trivia games, all centered around a high-tech spectrometer. We learned a lot about the importance of precision in aligning every element so the laser could travel back and forth through the machine. Every detail matters.”
Grohmann added, “Through this project, I gained an appreciation for how these machines work. Seeing the internal components of the UV-Vis spectrometer made me appreciate the complexity of the equipment we use in the lab.”
