BATON ROUGE, LA – March 25, 2023, 1 pm – 9 pm. The Baton Rouge Main Library on Goodwood is hosting a daylong celebration of the creation of the universe.
Sounds of Science (SoS) is a public event, collaboratively developed with the library and LSU between the School of Music, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Manship School of Communication, and the Louisiana Space Grant Consortium (LaSPACE). SoS is a daylong event at the Main Library on Goodwood with activities for all ages beginning at 1 pm, including STEM demonstrations, a crafts and activities station, story time, music-making, a Saturday Science lecture, and culminating in a panel discussion and musical performance at 7 pm.
David Walters, a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) candidate at LSU, composed the musical piece at the center of this event. Walters’ composition, Makrológos, is his interpretation of the evolution of the universe and life on Earth that points back to the mystery and majesty of the known science. “I composed the featured piece Makrológos as an expression of my love for cosmology and physics,” Walters said. The premier of this composition was held on Wednesday, November 9, 2022 in the LSU School of Music Recital Hall with an introduction by the composer and LSU Physics Professor Param Singh.
To best inform his composition, Walters reached out to subject matter experts on campus, including Dr. Greg Guzik, a professor of physics at LSU and the director of the Louisiana Space Grant Consortium (LaSPACE). Walters got more than an expert opinion on the accessible science resources he sought.
“I have always viewed science as a creative human endeavor with characteristics similar to visual and musical arts,” explains Guzik. “There are a number of musical compositions, such as The Planets by Gustav Holst, that are inspired by science and provide an alternate method for humanity to experience that science.” Guzik says his immediate response to Walters’ request was to envision a project consistent with the goals and objectives of LaSPACE that would unite multiple LSU entities in the creation of public transdisciplinary event promoting scientific literacy and the arts. “The expectation and hope I have for the Sounds of Science program is to reach a broad public audience about the universe we reside in, how we can understand this universe, and how we can interpret this understanding and appreciation.”
The dialog between Walters and Guzik quickly expanded to include Dr. Mara Gibson, Walters’ faculty advisor for his composition minor; faculty members from the LSU Physics Department: Param Singh, Matthew Perry, Tabby Boyajian, and Geoff Clayton; Science Writer and adjunct instructor from the Manship School, Freda Y. Dunne; Assistant Director of the Main library, Mary Stein; and the LaSPACE Outreach Coordinator, Aaron Ryan and LaSPACE Assistant Director, Colleen H. Fava.
The long-standing Saturday Science program was leveraged to include related public lectures, including two talks on February 26th from Dr. Singh who also spoke about cosmology during Walters’ debut performance back in November and Dr. Gibson who spoke about how she integrated the experience of a lunar eclipse into a series of compositions including E-Tip, E-Vespers, and E-clipse(d). “This project an excellent opportunity for a general audience to understand the harmony of science and music, and abreast themselves with the state of the art in astrophysics and cosmology,” says Singh.
Two more Saturday Science events are on the books. Dr. Matthew Penny will be speaking on “How Earth Came to Be: From the Big Bang to Planet Formation.” The final related Saturday Science lecture is scheduled for the main event given by Geoff Clayton. “I’m giving a public talk about the exciting science that is happening with the new James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). I am a co-Investigator on four approved science programs that are obtaining data now from JWST, so I am very involved and excited as an astronomer to see what JWST can do. I hope to convey my excitement to the audience and explain why they should be excited too.”
In her role as a mass communication instructor, Dunne assigns a science story to beginning media writing students every semester and, in the fall of 2022, assigned students in her three classes to write their final projects on the James Webb Space Telescope. Several student papers will be presented as posters at the library during the event.
“My hope for Sounds of Science is to spark a reaction of pure joy of covering science as a journalist. After a few weeks of studying the James Webb Space Telescope, one student ran into class yelling, ‘Did you see the rings around Neptune? Wow!’ I had to smile,” Dunne said. “One of the students caught the fever of covering science.”
“In the future, I would love to see a similar project such as ‘Sounds of Science’ venture into coverage of Louisiana’s wetlands with music, science, interactive activities and perhaps even a documentary with Tiger TV,” Dunne said.
Anchored around the public lecture at 3 pm and the formal panel discussion and musical performance at 7 pm, Colleen H. Fava and Aaron Ryan of LaSPACE have led a small committee to plan complimentary activities for the Sounds of Science event. An exhibit of comparative images from the Hubble and James Webb telescopes were curated and installed by Ryan at the library this week to show the technological advances made in the study of the early universe.
On March 25th, the LaSPACE outreach team will have STEM demos set up in the courtyard and will host a crafts and activities room where patrons of all ages can color, create paper rockets, and more. “I prepared a number of hands-on space related activities for library visitors such as the stomp rockets and galaxy pinwheels,” Ryan says. “My hope is that the Sounds of Science provides an opportunity for kids to get inspired by space related science and have a fun day coloring and crafting.” LaSPACE and library staff will also offer several story times and the LSU School of Music will lead some activities for kids on the plaza. Sounds of Science activities are suitable to all ages.
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Local Contact: Colleen H. Fava, Assistant Director, LaSPACE / LA NASA EPSCoR Programs
LSU Department of Physics & Astronomy, colleenf@lsu.edu, laspace@lsu.edu, 225.578.8680
More Information about:
EBR Library Sounds of Science page: https://ebrpl.libguides.com/soundsofscience
David Walters: https://www.dwaltersmusic.com/about.html
LSU College of Music & Dramatic Arts: https://lsu.edu/cmda/events/
LSU Department of Physics & Astronomy: https://www.lsu.edu/physics/
LA Space Grant: https://laspace.lsu.edu/