Helping everyone to learn about the Universe

Astronomers from Newcastle and Portsmouth University have teamed up with the University of West Indies and a blind musician from Trinidad. Together, they have created an educational show about the Solar System in which the stars and planets are represented by sounds, inspired by musical instruments and rhythms from the Caribbean. The show is designed to be accessible to those who are blind or have low vision, whilst creating a new and engaging way for everyone to learn about the Universe.

The show premiered on YouTube, and at an in-person event in Trinidad on 30 January. It is now available online for all to enjoy. This show is a reimagining of the teams' original Tour of the Solar System, but replacing the initial Western-European musical choices and instruments, with those more in tune with Caribbean culture, and also using a local voice actor. This results in a new show that is more inclusive and relatable for Caribbean audiences.

Representing data with sound

Dr Chris Harrison from Newcastle University's School of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics and Dr James Trayford from the University Portsmouth co-lead the project, Audio Universe, which is behind the show. 

Dr Harrison said: "We are researching the best methods to represent data with sound, as an alternative to standard visual methods such as bar charts and pie charts. This process is called sonification. One application of sonification is to create immersive educational experiences, enjoyable for everyone, and which are also accessible to those who can not see or struggle with visual methods of communication". 

Based on Harrison’s earlier work, Professor Shirin Haque, an astronomer at the University of the West Indies, invited him to Trinidad. Haque said, "In the West Indies, we are short of resources to support the education of children with disabilities. Based on his earlier work, I invited Dr Harrison to meet with teachers, community leaders, and members of our research group to consult with us on producing accessible educational resources in our local region. I could not be more delighted that one result of this visit was the creation of this new show!" 

During his visit Harrison met Mr Arron George, a blind Trinidadian musician. George said: "When Chris first played the sounds to represent the stars appearing and planets orbiting, I felt awe, wonder, and a deep sense of hope. As the first blind student in the Caribbean to successfully pass physics and chemistry at the CSEC level, I overcame countless barriers in pursuing science.

"There were no facilities or tools designed for someone like me, and I often had to create my own way forward. These sounds opened up the Universe to me in a way I could never experience visually, revealing its wonders in a form I could truly appreciate. But I couldn’t help thinking, what if we made this Caribbean-style? Imagine replacing glockenspiels with steel pans, layering vibrant Caribbean rhythms, and infusing our culture into the experience. It would not only reflect the beauty of our region but also make the cosmos accessible and relatable to all who learn differently." 

The result of this visit was a collaboration between the astronomers and George to produce a new Caribbean-style soundtrack for Audio Universe: Tour of the Solar System. 

Dr Trayford, who is the lead-developer of the software the team uses to produce all of the sound, said: "We've developed a computer code which can read in a dataset and turn it into sounds based on choices made by the user. This is similar to how we might try to visualise data, using graphs and charts to understand it better. To make the Caribbean show, it was a case of taking the same data as the original, but expressed using Caribbean rhythms, harmonies and instrumentation, including steel pans, guitars and maracas. Thanks to Arron’s guidance and recordings we could make this authentically Caribbean.   

"The process wasn’t without its challenges. Trayford continued, “Music is very cultural and will influence how we hear sonification. One of the biggest challenges we had to overcome was the greater emphasis on rhythms and percussion instruments in Caribbean music, compared to the emphasis on tuned instruments and harmonies in Western-European music. We had to think creatively about adapting our approaches, but ultimately gained new ideas we can take away from this cultural crossover.  It was wonderful learning from Arron, and benefitting from his perspective on sonification.” 

Although sonification is growing in popularity, this work is believed to be unique, in adapting a sonification-based show to reflect the importance of different musical cultures. The team intends to build on this work, and consider how what they have learnt can be expanded to other musical cultures and help inform a more inclusive approach to sonification development. 

This project was supported by funding from United Kingdom Research and Innovation grants and the Royal Astronomical Society. The Simons Foundation supported the workshop and travel for Dr Harrison’s visit to Trinidad. 

Image caption: Chris (fourth from left) meeting Prof. Shirin Haque (first on right) and Arron George (second from right), as part of a consultation with academics, educators, and members of the blind and low vision community.