Some of the most interesting engineering conversations happen in places you least expect.
Last week, as part of an Engineers Australia visit, I had the opportunity to spend time at The Signals Sound Lab in Fremantle with Will Axton, Luke, Gaëtan Schurrer and the Engineers Australia team, including Susan Kreemer Pickford and Adam Kinnest.
At first glance, The Signals Sound Lab feels like a living museum of electronic music and engineering history. Shelves are lined with vintage synthesisers, oscilloscopes, test equipment and communications technology spanning decades of innovation. Much of the equipment could easily be dismissed as obsolete. Instead, it has found an entirely new purpose.
What fascinated me most wasn’t the collection itself. It was the philosophy behind it.
The Lab uses technology to spark curiosity.
Children arrive to explore music and experiment with sound. Before long, they’re asking questions about electronics, mathematics, programming and engineering. It is a powerful reminder that engineering doesn’t always begin in a classroom. More often, it begins with curiosity, experimentation and the freedom to ask, “What happens if…?”
That process of discovery lies at the heart of engineering itself.
Innovation has always depended on people being willing to tinker, test ideas, learn from failure and approach problems from unexpected directions. The Signals Sound Lab creates exactly that kind of environment, where learning is driven not by instruction alone, but by exploration.
One highlight of the visit was the opportunity to play The Orchid, the remarkable electronic instrument developed by Telepathic Instruments, the company founded by Kevin Parker of Tame Impala. The instrument blurs the line between music, technology and human creativity, making sophisticated engineering feel intuitive, accessible and, above all, enjoyable.
It prompted an interesting question. If experiences like this can inspire curiosity so naturally, how might we use them to encourage more young people to consider careers in engineering and technology?
The visit also highlighted the close relationship between engineering and the creative industries. Artists regularly visit the Lab to experiment with the equipment and discover entirely new sounds. Alongside this contemporary creativity sits a rich technological history, from the pioneering electronic techniques used to create the original Doctor Whotheme to synthesisers that shaped Australian music and even early computer game development.
It is easy to assume that innovation always depends on the newest technology.
The Signals Sound Lab demonstrates something quite different.
Sometimes innovation begins by rediscovering older technology, understanding the engineering principles behind it and using those foundations to inspire entirely new ideas. The technology may be decades old, but the thinking it encourages remains as relevant as ever.
As engineers, we often speak about STEM education and developing the next generation of technical capability. Visits like this remind us that creativity deserves an equal place in that conversation. Music, mathematics, electronics, software and engineering are not separate disciplines. They are complementary ways of understanding and shaping the world around us.
If we want to inspire the next generation of engineers, we need to create more opportunities where young people can explore, experiment and discover that engineering is every bit as much about imagination as it is about equations.
My thanks to Will Axton, Luke and Gaëtan Schurrer for their generosity in sharing both their remarkable collection and their passion for engineering, music and education. Thank you also to Bourby L’Éclair for the introduction.
I left with a renewed appreciation that some of the best engineering education begins not with a lecture, but with curiosity, creativity and the simple invitation to start exploring.
