Young Sound Seekers
November 15th, 2020In Fall 2020, I collaborated with Atlantic Center for the Arts on the launch of Young Sound Seekers. This new community outreach program creates opportunities for blind and partially-sighted youth to learn about natural soundscapes and audio field recording at Canaveral National Seashore. I serve as co-director of the program with Eve Payor, ACA Director of Community Programs. We make monthly excursions to the park with the kids and use that time to teach them about the soundscape.
My role has been primarily to develop curriculum that teaches the kids how to talk about sounds. We’ve covered key concepts from acoustics like loudness and frequency, and introduced helpful soundscape vocabulary like biophony, geophony, and anthrophony. We’ve also learned together about specific sound sources that are heard at Canaveral, like calls from bird species found in the park. The kids have been eager students of this material, and for most of them, our excursions were their first time visiting a national park. I have really enjoyed getting to know them through these experiences at the park.
Young Sound Seekers is supported by a five-year grant from the Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division of the National Park Service, so we have some generous support to keep building on these early experiences. Representatives from the local park and national offices have also been great partners to work with throughout the early development of this program.
Additional details about the program:
[…] principles of acoustics and hearing, topics that cover frequently in my own courses (and with the Young Sound Seekers). My second lecture was a survey of instrument builders in the 20th century, which allowed me to […]