In recent years, the NPUST Department of Wood Science and Design has been working to promote value adding practices to its domestic timber, and has received support from the Forestry Bureau for its development of circular economy applications. One of the of their projects, the “College Violin”, has been making use of Taiwan’s local tree varieties since 2016 to produce various types of violins—and the results have truly resonated. Beginning this year (2022), Associate Professor Way Long of the Department of Wood Science and Design and Principal Pao-chuan Chen of Sinfeng Elementary School have been working together on the “Big Hands Helping Little Hands” project to provide elementary school students at Gaoshu’s Sinfeng Elementary with “College Violins” made by university students while also adding violin making to the elementary school’s experiential curriculum. On October 6th, a results presentation was held at the university library. The opening ceremony was attended by NPUST President Chin-Lung Chang, Principal Pao-chuan Chen of Sinfeng Elementary, Director Fang-ming Lin Director of the Department of Wood Design, and Associate Professor Long Wei.
NPUST President Chang said, “in recent years, the Department of Wood Design has been promoting circular economies and has strongly promoted the use of domestic materials in craftsmanship. We hope that these concepts can be passed on, and that wood craftsmanship and musical aesthetics can become part of children’s daily lives through “Big Hands Helping Little Hands” project. We look forward seeing all the little musicians here making unique and exclusive domestic musical instruments themselves one day, and playing them on their future artistic journeys in life”.
Associate Professor Way Long said: “the idea of this activity is to further implement the application of Taiwan’s domestic materials in music education, and let it take root through by holding courses and activities while providing professional resources for students to use. Students can learn about different wood properties and the unique and exclusive sounds that can be made from domestic woods as they learn to play, make and repair violins.”
Principal Pao-chuan Chen said “through the elementary music curriculum the students are provided with a beautiful christening into the sounds of violins, and with the cooperation of Professor Way Long, already five students have begun learning violin making. And in the future we will gradually add these things to the curriculum for each grade level, so that more students can participate.”
