Acousatron
The Acousatron is our ongoing main feature installation; designed for busy events where lots of people want to try something out for themselves: it’s chaotic, loud and fun.
We also build bespoke installations that use electrical control of small fans to strike amplified acoustic objects. This installation is flexible to a wide range of situations.
Find out more about installations.
Shows
Stage shows & school assembly:
– Bass in your Face
– 60 Million Tonnes
Street shows- participatory for public spaces, events, passers-by, smaller audiences (up to 50):
– Nose Test
– Bass Buzz
– Oobleck: non-Newtonian Fluids & Cymatics
– Junk Jam performance & demo: contact mics & household acoustic objects
Workshops
Scavengers workshops involve Making and Tinkering with upcycled electronic components. We have run these for over ten years and they are completely adaptable for all ages groups: Key Stage 2 right up to further and higher education, teacher training and adult groups. Different sets of workshop kits are prepared for each group.
We also run music workshops, focussing on improvisation and
Find out more about workshops.
Drop-in
Drop-in can involve very quick activities to promote something (like an upcoming science festival) to passers-by; less than one minute, with the option to extend the activity or sit down and try the drop-in workshop activities.
Walkabout performers with amplified acoustic everyday objects, Scavengers drop-in, Audio Assault Buggy/ Nose Testing, Bass Station. Short, participatory fun science-based activities suitable for events or public spaces where people can come and go and try things out with facilitation.
Science Communication
We are experts at engaging a lay audience in activities that inspire curiosity and confidence to experiment and find out more about science. There are serious issues in society with the perception of science and scientists; many people are turned off at school, and feel inhibited for the rest of their lives. Cutting edge research (especially in physics) often seems fantastical but of little relevance to people’s lives. And there is a disastrous rise in science denial, now made acceptable by some of the most powerful people in the world.
Musical Participation
In a similar way to science, most people lack the confidence to take part in any musical activity. Even people with some training are often reluctant to step outside of their particular field. Popular and artistic culture places a tiny few success stories on pedestals; they must have a genius which everyone else lacks, and there are very few opportunities to take part in low-pressure participatory music-making. There is so much evidence in the benefits of group music-making and singing, and yet many schools do not prioritise it, or don’t have staff confident to lead it.
Scavengers
The Scavenging skills behind all of what we do: upcycling, re-purposing electronic and other waste materials. Dismantling old computers and building our own evil inventions form their innards. Scavengers use what is avaialable to them and we live in an era of incredible waste and disposability, so lets get what we can from it and learn to use what’s left over to reduce waste and increase awareness.
Find out more about Scavengers.
Engagement
We specialise in activities and projects that bring people in; to a museum, to participating in STEM events, to experimenting and creating their own soundscapes. We have worked closely with the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford for several years, visiting schools in the wider community to successfully encourage hard-to-reach families to attend the museum.
Please contact Steve to discuss how we can work with your organisation to promote engagement and wider participation.