Starting in Summer 2016, the first EcoSonic Playground Project™ working group designed and built two instrument structures for the UML Music Department. The working group consisted of undergraduate students from across the university, majoring in music education, visual art, mechanical and materials engineering (pictured here). In addition, we consulted with a cross-disciplinary group of faculty and staff from UML’s Office of Sustainability, Materials Engineering, Sociology, and Psychology.
This experimental program was the first pilot that we implemented. Essentially, we followed our own curriculum. During this process, we addressed engineering and design problems as they came up and continually redesigned the program. We completed the structures in January 2017 and then gave them to the Music Department community to play.
Sustainability: Collecting reusable materials
Design Thinking: Creating individual instruments
Engineering and Architecture: Creating the structures
Engineering and Architecture: Putting the instruments together
Engineering and Architecture: Final designs
Music!: Playing the structures
The EcoSonic Playground Project is a trademark of the University of Massachusetts Lowell.