Students learn how sound, light work from Allied Solutions Center ‘professors’
5/19/2026 12AM
Allied Solutions Center production team helps teach the principles of light, sound to more than a thousand Indiana students
The chatter from nearly 400 fourth graders filled the Payne & Mencias Palladium as they waited for the scientists to take the stage. They erupted into cheers when the lights went low and “Doctors” Rob and Brian emerged from the shadows. Students from three Central Indiana elementary school districts were here on Tuesday, May 5 for the last “Science of Light & Sound” program of the 2025-2026 school year.
The 60-minute show brings to life the vocabulary and concepts the students have been working on in the classroom. Robert Glass takes his expertise as the lead audio engineer at Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts to show the basic properties of sound. Pitch, volume, and frequency are just some of the concepts Rob illustrated during the 60-minute set.
“Sound is just a vibration,” Rob said. “What we hear is impacted by the stuff around us.”
The students had a good laugh when Rob invited one of their favorite teachers on the stage and had him sing the classic, “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” and then manipulated his sound to be low and high pitched.
Nearly everyone in the concert hall let out a “wow” when Brian used a red, blue, and green spotlight to create a white light on the screen set up on the stage. As a technical director at the Center, Brian Coon is an expert at creating stage environments that enhance all the performances that come through Carmel.
“This is how additive and subtractive color mixing works,” he told the kids. “It’s science!”
“Science of Light & Sound” is provided for free multiple times throughout the school year and is designed to dovetail with Indiana Department of Education standards for fourth grade science. More than 1,300 students from approximately 30 schools and homeschool families attended one of the sessions during the 2025-2026 session. Schools from as far away as Columbus, New Castle, Kokomo and Lafayette attended one of the shows.
“We’re so thankful to Scientech Foundation of Indiana and Business Furniture Co for supporting this show,” said Jeff McDermott, president and CEO of Allied Solutions Center. “In part because of their support more than 1,300 students from schools all over Central Indiana got to make the connection that science makes art and science needs art to show its beauty.”
Teachers are able to apply for a grant from the Center to cover transportation costs associated with attending a performance allowing students from all districts the opportunity to attend. Reservations for the 2026-2027 school year open this summer.
