Mix the music hidden in microplastics.
Best experienced with sound on. Touch the pads to mix.
In the Wei lab, Raman spectroscopy reads each microplastic particle - returning a precise spectral fingerprint of the polymer.
Each spectrum is mapped to sound: peak positions become pitches, intensities become rhythm and timbre. Every plastic gets its own riff.
You take the decks. Blend real spectra from actual water samples into a track and hear the contamination resolve into a beat.
A physical Makey Makey installation travels to museums and festivals - turning everyday objects into the DJ's controls, so visitors play the spectra with their hands.
Developed under the NOAA MOSAIC partnership. [confirm exact NOAA award acknowledgment - e.g. "This material is based upon work supported by NOAA under Award No. NA##OAR#######."] The Microplastics DJ is a STEMsaic Research Impacts public-engagement project.