The ear phonautograph was a macabre instrument. It was built by Alexander Graham Bell and Clarence J. Blake in 1874, and used a surgically-removed human ear—a skull fragment, ear canal, ear drum, and ossicle bones—to visually “write” sound waves. It worked like this: the surgically-removed ear was first attached to the top bracket of the instrument by a bolt driven through the skull fragment. It was then tightened in place with a thumbscrew. When a user spoke into the mouthpiece, located behind

Few things say ‘doctor’ more than a stethoscope. Even in the modern medical field, which can be regarded as highly vision-based (imaging, scanning, observing), the stethoscope remains a powerful medical tool and an iconic symbol of past traditions. Above all, the stethoscope represents a deep and enduring relationship between medical practice and sound. During my time as a practicum student for Ingenium, I worked on developing a research profile of the museum’s stethoscope collection, focusing

At the start of 2022, I joined Ingenium – Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation as a research assistant. Ingenium curators Dr. Tom Everrett (Communications) and Dr. David Pantalony (Physical Sciences and Medicine) invited me to write about a research project that I am currently affiliated with called Autonomous Adaptive Soundscape (AAS). The AAS is an intelligent bio-algorithmic system that selects therapeutic soundscapes to relax ICU patients, via application of machine learning and

As a blind/low vision child, two things seemed just out of reach for Samantha Moore: history and art.

How do you create a virtual web-based museum exhibition for visitors with vision impairments? Read about the recommendations and inclusive solutions Carla Ayukawa, a curatorial studies student, learned through her consultations with the visitor group.

As the 2020-2021 Garth Wilson Fellow, Victoria Hawco provided design input on an international database of acoustical objects with Ingenium – Canada’s Museums of Science and Innovation.

Canadian Hugh Le Caine invented the 1948 Electronic Sackbut — the world's earliest known electronic synthesizer. Now a team at Ingenium is bringing this revolutionary instrument back to life.

What does the COVID-19 pandemic sound like? Ingenium's communications curator offers up a look at the pandemic from the perspective of sound.