This summer, kids and adults will explore beats and rhythm and make some joyful noise on two vibrant interactive sound sculptures newly installed in our
Children’s Garden.
Original creations by our exhibits team, the playful sculptures were inspired by an installation they initially designed and fabricated for Harriet and Sayles Park last summer. Part of the city’s PopUp Providence initiative – an innovative urban place-making program that supported temporary and inexpensive artistic and cultural interventions to enliven neighborhoods across the city – the captivating musical components were well used and well loved.
Whether banging on drums or ringing bells, children inherently
respond to making and sharing music. Designed to accommodate a range
of physical abilities and skills, the sound sculptures invite children
of all ages to play a variety of inventive percussion instruments in
their own ways and create meaningful interactions with music and with
each other. Making music together promotes confidence and social
skills, as well as the development of language, mathematical and spatial
thinking – and it's just plain fun!
By incorporating a variety of intriguing reclaimed objects and new materials, the sound sculptures offer kids a hands-on musical experience with both usual and unusual instruments, including bells and tongue drums fashioned from steel propane tanks, triangles and large wooden and metal chimes.
The sound sculptures will infuse the garden with creative exploration this summer and beyond, and inspire families to express themselves while discovering ways that everyday items can be playfully repurposed. Feel the beat!
