Jackson Enyeart: 

This project is an escape course for children in Reyhanli, Turkey that explores the concept of body moments and sound and heightening senses

The refugee children in Reyhanli are without a communal playspace. The hope is that with a playspace, they will have more developmentally appropriate opportunities to socialize with other. The project is a two-part escape course. The first part is a pitch-dark tunnel maze where children must use sound to find their way out. On the floor of the tunnel, a string that must be pulled so that the bell in front of them well ring. By following the bells to the end, the kids escape the maze and reach an open area where tilting pads hang from ropes. When the children jump onto a pad and grip a pressure point, the pad produces a pitch that changes as the pad is tilted from side to side, going sharp or flat depending on the direction of tilt. To do this, we used an Arduino and an accelerometer. The accelerometer measures the coordinated of the tilt and produces a pitch that bends when it moves. Sound is explored through body movement as one uses their body to change the pitch.

Lina Huang: 

Playground musical stepping stones and a tunnel maze that encourage experimentation with sound and movement.

Young Syrian refugees in Reyhanli, Turkey currently have access to a temporary playground created by a series of wooden cubes. Implementing musical structures will enhance the space and encourage the exploration of music, the senses, and movement. One of the structures is a dark tunnel maze with bells attached to a rope on the ground for kids to ring. As children crawl through the tunnel, the rope and bells guide them through the end; the darkness encourages them to focus on their senses of touch and hearing. The second part is a grid of "stepping stones" that change sound as children interact with them. Leveled circular surfaces with a rope running through them have Arduino-run sensors, accelerometers, and speakers that play pitches when kids step on their surfaces. As kids lean from side to side, the notes of each stepping stone change pitch. Incorporating music into a playground encourages children to find joy in exploring and experimenting with music. These structures give children, who may not have had much exposure to music, interactive musical experiences that allow them to take risks by experimenting with their senses and movements of their bodies.