All The Light We Cannot See Exhibit

Our Exhibit

Our exhibit is about the story All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr and features the main characters, setting, and the eight main artifacts from the story. The All The Light We Cannot See Exhibit is made up of 13 rooms with the Sea of Flames in the last room, representing the 13 doors that the Sea of Flames was locked behind in the Museum of Natural History in Paris before World War II. Also, we made the building of our museum out of stone just like the buildings in Saint-Malo were built from during World War II. The location of our exhibit also relates to All The Light We Cannot See because it is in Saint-Malo just like one of the main locations in the story. Inside our museum we have many artifacts from the story on display like Werner’s Radio, the record of Henri’s ten science lectures, the model of Saint-Malo made by Marie-Laure’s father, and many more. Inside our museum we also have rooms dedicated to the main characters of the story, specifically Marie-Laure and Werner, the two protagonists and Von Rumpel, the antagonist of the story. In the 13th room of our exhibit, the Sea of Flames is on display and we also have a gift shop with many items relevant to All The Light We Cannot See like a replica of the model of Etienne’s house with a replica of the Sea of Flames in a secret compartment, a hoodie with a picture of Marie-Laure, and a speaker that looks like the first radio that Werner fixed.

The Merchandise

A Replica of the Model of Etienne’s House with a Replica of the Sea of Flames Stored Inside

The model of Etienne’s house was made my Daniel LeBlanc, Marie-Laure’s father and this model had a secret compartment that held the Sea of Flames. The Sea of Flames was the Diamond that was said to have the powers to keep the person who held it alive forever, but it also meant that everyone that they cared about would suffer. Von Rumpel spent the last years of his life searching for the

Sea of Flames and because of how powerful it was, it was dangerous if it got into the wrong hands, so it was Daniel LeBlanc’s job to keep it safe. Later once Daniel LeBlanc left, the Sea of Flames was given to Marie-Laure and though she didn’t know she had it at first with the help of Werner they were able to lock it in the Grotto where it would be safe from anyone who wanted the power of the Sea of Flames. This model contributed to the relationship between Marie-Laure and Werner, but later it also contributed to Jutta’s relationship with Marie-Laure. When Jutta gave the model to Marie-Laure and Marie-Laure found the key to the grotto inside, she knew that the Sea of Flames was hidden in the Grotto which made it safe from anyone who wanted its power and this concluded Daniel LeBlanc’s mission to keep the Sea of Flames safe. Etienne’s model and the Sea of Flames hidden inside of the model greatly contributed to the plot of the story and connected all the characters in the story. Our replica sold in the gift shop looks identical to the original artifact and is a great souvenir for visitors.

Hoodie with a Picture of Marie-Laure

The picture was drawn by one of the reader. Marie-Laure is a 14-year-old girl with rapidly deteriorating eyesight. She lives in a city called Saint-Malo which is under threat to German occupation. Marie-Laure is one of the main characters in the story and plays an important role in the book because she shows what life was like back in WWII as a young blind girl. Marie-Laure is a resilient young woman driven by her curiosity about the world around her. Marie-Laure did not endure a limited and sheltered life even though she was blind as a child. Instead, she took her father’s advice and pledged to learn to read Braille and navigate the world by studying small-scale models of where she lived. This hoodie has a picture of Marie-Laure on it so the person who wears it will be reminded that they want to live an adventurous life just like Marie-Laure did.

A Speaker That Looks Like the First Radio Werner Fixed

Radio is a device used to communicate during World War II. Radio is also Werner’s important item in the story. He always has it with him at the beginning of the story. The radio represents the connection between the characters. It was the radio that first connected Werner and the French professor and later with Marie-Laure. Without that link, nothing great could happen in a novel. There will be no revelations that open the eyes of Werner thanks to Professor, no protection for Marie-Laure thanks to Professor’s relationship with Werner, and no ultimate salvation and redemption for Werner thanks. Marie-Laure. For Werner’s sister, Jutta, the radio represents a path of truth beyond Germany’s borders. For Etienne LeBlanc, the many radios symbolized his fragile relationship with the outside world. The speaker in the shape of Werner’s first radio is a great item to own to remember the museum and will definitely start conversations with your friends and family.

Artifacts

The Model of Etienne’s House

A model of a seven-story mansion made by Daniel Leblanc, Marie-Laure’s father. It was originally made for Marie-Laure to navigate through the house safely; however, it was further used to store the precious sea of flames. Marie-Laure carried the stone without knowing which caused her to become endangered by a German soldier named Von rumple. Not only was the model used to help Marie-Laure navigate around the house, but it was also used to store and protect the stone hidden in the model.

Werner’s Radio

As a child Werner and his sister find a broken ww2 German radio. After he repairs it, he can listen to a French broadcast where a man explains scientific concepts because of the knowledge he has acquired he is accepted into a specialized Nazi training school at the age of fourteen. Two years later when Werner is 16 his age is falsified so he can serve on the German frontlines

The Grotto Key

The key to the grotto was given to Marie-Laure by an old man named Harold Bazin. The grotto was used by Marie-Laure’s grandfather, great uncle and Bazin himself. The grotto is connected to the ocean and is covered with crabs and snails. It is said that the sea of flames curse would be lifted if you put the stone in its rightful place which is the sea. Werner throws the sea of flames in the grotto and puts they key inside the model of the house. This supposedly saved the lives of those he cared for.

The Model of Saint-Malo

A model of a seven-story mansion made by Daniel Leblanc, Marie-Laure’s father. It was originally made for Marie-Laure to navigate through the house safely; however, it was further used to store the precious sea of flames. Marie-Laure carried the stone without knowing which caused her to become endangered by a German soldier named Von rumple. Not only was the model used to help Marie-Laure navigate around the house, but it was also used to store and protect the stone hidden in the model.

The Plot Diagram

Beginning: Werner finding and fixing radio then listens to a French broadcast that talks about scientific concepts, Marie Laure turning blind and finding out about the sea of flames in the museum of natural history that her father works for, and the rising threat of France being under attack.

Rising action: France being bombed so the museum of natural history makes 3 copies of the sea of flames and giving one to members of the museum, Marie Laure with her father moves to Saint-Malo where her uncle lives her father carrying the real sea of flames.

Climax: Werner joins the German military and is assigned to Saint-Malo where he finds the man with the same voice as the one from the program he listened to as a child is broadcasting codes which he tracks down to find that it is being broadcast from Marie Laure’s house. At the same time a Nazi official named Von Rumple has become obsessed with finding the sea of flames because he is suffering from cancer.

Falling action: Von Rumple tracking the sea of flames location to Marie Laure and ordering bombings on Saint-Malo which makes the building Werner is in collapses on him trapping him, while Marie Laure is alone in her house Von Rumple sees his chance to go to the house and look for the sea of flames.

End: Werner eventually gets out of the collapsed building and rushes to the house, Von Rumple believes that Werner is also looking for the sea of flames and when he threatens Werner, Werner shoots him. Laure moves back to Paris with her uncle and grows up to be a scientist and Werner falls ill after being imprisoned and dies by stepping on a land mine.

Two Characters

Marie-Laure

Marie-Laure is a 14-year-old girl with rapidly deteriorating eyesight. She lives in a city called Saint-Malo which is under threat to German occupation. Marie-Laure is one of the main characters in the story and plays an important role in the book because she shows what life was like back in WW2 as a young blind girl.

Werner

Werner is a kind and intelligent boy and one of the protagonists of All the Light We Cannot See. Despite growing up in a foster home in Zollverein, Germany and having little access to education, he is a motivated learner. Through the radio he fixed, Werner has learned a lot about the Nazis actions in the war but despite knowing the problems with the Nazis actions he still attended the special Nazi training school because of his motivation to learn. At the school he learned a lot, but he also noticed many violent actions happening at the school and he could not ignore them. Due to being kind he no longer wanted to attend the school but when he challenged the leaders at the school he was sent off to Saint-Malo. In Saint-Malo he was given an opportunity to go against the Nazis and because he did not like to see people being hurt, he saved Marie-Laure’s life and attempted to fight against the Nazis in Saint-Malo.

Setting

All The Light We Cannot See is set in France during World War II. It tells the story of Marie-Laure, a young blind girl forced to flee to the citadel of Saint-Malo after the Nazi’s occupy her home in Paris, and Werner, an orphan drafted into the academy for Hitler Youth. On a mission to fight the Nazi resistance, Werner’s path crosses with Marie-Laure’s, and what follows is an illuminating story about the power of kindness to light the way in the darkest of times.

Our Campaign

Our exhibit is targeted towards middle school, high school, and post-secondary school students because that is the age range of students who would most likely read All The Light We Cannot See and we designed our advertisement campaign based on this targeted audience. The first platform we advertised on was Google and we had our advertisement show up to people searching about the novel, All The Light We Cannot See. The second platform we advertised on was Instagram because many users of this app are in the middle school to post-secondary age range. Another way we advertised our exhibit was through putting up posters in nearby schools advertising our exhibit. We decided to charge $5 per person for admission because we wanted to make our exhibit inexpensive so it is an option for field trips for classes that have just read All The Light We Cannot See. 

The Part of The Project I Completed

I brainstormed all the artefacts with Enzo and gave the idea of the layout in our museum. I wrote the paragraphs of Ettiene’s house model and the key to the grotto. I did the character profile of Von Rumpel and mostly created the script for the advertisement with the help of Mark. Finally I participated in the commercial itself.