Funky Frequencies Workshop

The Funky Frequencies Workshop was organized in 2025 at the Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean (MUDAM) in Luxembourg as a part of their Night of Museums program. The drop-in workshop focused on crafting noise-making devices. Each participant received an electronics kit and could create an interface of their choice for the sounds using DIY materials.

The electronics kits, which I had prepared beforehand, contained an ATtiny85 microcontroller, a small speaker and a battery holder. The electronics could produce different sounds, which ranged from laser gun noises to cute beeps. In the circuit schematic you can see the possible connection pins for the sounds, of which only one or more could be used. Additionally, we had lots of cardboard, aluminum foil and other DIY materials for making a container and interface for the sounds. For the interface, the idea was to use the conductive aluminum foil for making switches, which triggered different sounds depending on which the ATtiny pins were connected.

As people have lots of things to see on a museum night, some easy materials and examples were provided for those who wanted to build their device fast. For example, large “matchboxes” could be used to create a box, which makes noises when opened (or closed). Another example was a cardboard piano with four keys, where each key played one sound. Combinations of all the sounds could also be played.

While most participants applied the ideas prompted by the examples, some people invented their own interfaces, such as a wearable cyborg synth and a quiz device, where sound indicated the correct answer. The workshop room was full of people and action until midnight, as there was also another workshop taking place next to our table, where people could make wearable LED pins. It was nice to see people of all ages participating enthusiastically in the extended DIY evening.

See also:

• Photo album of Funky Frequencies Workshop