The Giant Sequencer is an interactive exhibit of sound. The exhibit has a presence with the large, brightly colored, circular marimba mounted high on the wall, and a large table below with scanning pattern lights. The scanning time-base of the table is from one end to the other, while musical note is low to high across the width.

 

When a visitor places an acrylic block in one of the indents on the table to be scanned, the block glows a different color and the marimba selects that note assigned to that position to play when that row is scanned. The exhibit is continually scanning the 16 rows of 16 columns and actuates a different striker for a different marimba bar relative to the positional placement of the block across the width. These hexagonal blocks glow different colors across the width when placed in different positions for playing.

 

The visitors can place the blocks into sequences, or patterns to trigger specific repeatable musical passages. If the exhibit is not actuated by a visitor for a preset time, or if staff selects it, the marimba can go into automatic mode and play MIDI files of preselected complex musical passages or songs.

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Themes:

Music and Sound Making, Multi-Sensory Learning, Coding

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Installed:

La Nube S.T.E.A.M. Discovery Center, El Paso, TX

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Exhibit concept designs provided by Gyroscope Inc.