The LightSound Project is building and distributing solar eclipse sonification devices across the United State, Mexico, and Canada in preparation for the upcoming October 14, 2023 Annular Solar Eclipse and the April 8, 2024 Total Solar Eclipse. The project runs workshops to teach students and adults how to solder while building devices that are then donated to groups hosting solar eclipse events. The entire project is open source and all information is available on the website – https://astrolab.fas.harvard.edu/LightSound.html
The project ran two LightSound building workshops over the past several months. The first was at the University of Arizona in April 2023. Fifteen students from the TIMESTEP (Tucson Initiative for Minoritized student Engagement in Science and Technology Program). The second workshop was at the University of Texas, San Antonio where 20 students and staff learned to solder and build the LightSound devices. We created a request form, posted on our website, for people to request devices for their events. We have build and delivered 65 devices. The website was translated to French. We created a Discord server for users to be able to connect.
The LightSound devices are designed for Blind and Low Vision (BLV) users or non-visual learner. The devices are used when observing solar eclipses but can also be used as a teaching and demo tool. They have been distributed to various groups hosting event (teachers, libraries, universities, museums, national parks, etc). The workshops have generally targets students who aim to learn a new skill (soldering). The devices distributed will reach thousands of people but we don’t have an exact count until after the events.
The LightSound device code and instructions are on the website.