Sound x Science Workshop

Build a Geiger counter with Arduino and turn invisible energy into audible poetry!

In 2011, during a residency in Japan, artist CHANG Yung-Ta witnessed the Fukushima nuclear disaster. In its aftermath, he turned his focus to the invisible yet constant presence of background radiation and cosmic rays. Using Geiger counters, he began creating works on “invisible energy.” These particles follow no rhythm or predictable order – silent wanderers that, though mostly harmless, arise both from Earth’s crust and from the distant cosmos.

For CHANG, these waves became collaborators, like unseen conductors of intangible symphonies. Captured and translated, they transform into sonic and visual landscapes, setting rhythms and triggering vibrations that reveal hidden songs of energy normally beyond perception.

The seed for this workshop was planted in 2024, when CHANG visited the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and encountered the Forschungsreaktor 2 (FR2), Germany’s first domestically designed research reactor. Once used to probe neutron physics and generate isotopes for medicine, the now decommissioned FR2 has been reborn as an exhibition space for new artistic exploration.

This workshop invites participants into that same spirit of discovery, where art and science converge. No prior technical background is needed. Participants will assemble a Geiger counter with Arduino and use Cycling ’74 Max software to translate radiation data into sound. Each fleeting particle becomes rhythm or noise, unfolding as an improvised energy landscape. More than a workshop, it is an auditory expedition – an invitation to hear the whispers of science and shape them into sonic poetry.

What you need:

Please bring your own laptop running Windows or macOS and, if possible, headphones. No programming experience is needed. Before the workshop, install the visual programming environment Max (available as a free download); a 100-day license code will be provided during the session.