Barbis
“Barbis" was a playful, life-sized, Barbie-themed phone booth created by students at MIT, designed to resemble a mix between a Barbie dollhouse and the TARDIS from Doctor Who.
The booth became an interactive, Instagram-worthy prop around campus, merging pop culture references to create something that was eye-catching and playful. This installation was so well-received that the MIT News office suggested using it as a surprise for the president of MIT.
While working for the Edgerton Center, I was tasked with convinvincing the president’s office to let us sneak it in while she was out at a meeting and covering the event. The event garnered 13K+ likes on MIT’s Instagram and coverage by NBC Boston, becoming one of MIT News's top stories of 2023.
“This exemplifies the creativity, the innovation, and the technical know-how of MIT students and I’m amazed they created this in their first hour [as undergraduates]. They’ve already internalized the real vibe of MIT.”
Here are some tips I learned from this experience.
1.15 minutes is the magic number when trying to book time with important people
The first hurdle to overcome were the logistics. The president is booked a year out, and we needed to get it in there within a week, before the buzz of the Barbie movie wore off. When I first called the office, they said it wouldn’t be possible to get us in any sooner than 3 months away. I begged and pleaded, assuring them the whole stunt would only take 15 minutes of the president’s time. They finally agreed to squeeze us in on the first day of class registration, and I am very grateful.
2. You never know when viral moments will occur, so always be ready
You will have to drop everything. It was my birthday weekend and I had to interview the students and write an entire article in one day. Get plenty of rest, hydrate, and don’t over-exert yourself, because you need to be ready to work round the clock when these moments occur.
3. Know that it might not work out the way you’re hoping, and that’s ok
There were some stressful moments when we weren’t sure if we could pull it off. It’s easy to get swept away and think this is the end-all be-all of viral moments for us. If we screw this up, we won’t get another one. I recommend trying to relax as much as you can and remember there will be other moments. If it doesn’t work out, it will be a learning experience. But you won’t be successful if you are too stressed about everything going as planned.
4. Get back up photographers
We only had 15 minutes from start to finish, meaning about 5 minutes were used for photos. It was nerve-racking making sure I got all the right shots, so I was grateful that the MIT News office sent an additional photographer just in case!