Orchestar: Teaching the Color/Temperature Relation through Sound

The relation between color and temperature is one of the fundamental concepts of an introductory astronomy course. However, for non-visual learners, the association - which is typically taught with visual aids - can be difficult to make. Using the process of "sonification," an Arduino-based device has been developed at Harvard University to convert color to sound with an RGB color sensor and MIDI board. The device, known as Orchestar, is able to sonify both reflected and transmitted light and is intended to be used as a tool for teaching the color/temperature relation, both in a laboratory setting and on a telescope. The documentation and code for Orchestar, which costs around $90 to build, is freely available online so that others may build their own (and modify the code, if they wish).