October Voice Lab News

Welcome to Voice Lab

Voice Lab is Polyglot’s unique consultation tool designed to listen to children, collect their thoughts, and amplify their voices. By using the insights they share to spark meaningful change, Voice Lab brings Polyglot’s core vision to life – a world where all children are empowered: artistically, socially and culturally.

Voice Lab: How do you know when a grown up is really listening?
Child: I can feel it in my heart. It feels like happiness.

Operating in two modes — the original physical dome and online — it offers children a one-on-one conversation with a voice driven by a concealed live performer. In both, Voice Lab asks questions, encourages opinions, and regards the child as the expert. Adaptive to different contexts and settings, Voice Lab provides a space for children to reflect on and share their feelings on specific experiences.

Explore how you can use Voice Lab

Download the brochure or visit our website.

Voice Lab in action

In April, Voice Lab was engaged by the Little Food Festival and Monash University. The physical dome was set up on Birrarung Marr Walk at Fed Square, and across two days, Voice Lab spoke to 93 children about food and food systems.

The following month, Voice Lab visited a regional primary school before and after students participated in Wish Street – a week-long residency program that Polyglot delivers in collaboration with Satellite Foundation. Celebrating the unique and powerful intersection of theatre making and family mental health awareness, Wish Street uses world-building and play to focus on community and wellbeing.

Voice Lab invited participants to reflect on happiness, health, creativity, and their Wish Street experience. This is what we heard:

In July, Voice Lab returned to Communities for Children Bendigo, where it spoke to 23 school holiday program participants about what happens when children have an opportunity to be heard.

In June 2025, as part of QPAC’s Out of the Box Festival in Brisbane, Voice Lab spoke to children about hope and their dreams for the future.

Voice Lab is currently being used as part of Polyglot’s multi-year project with the Centre for Community Child Health (CCCH) – a department of The Royal Children’s Hospital and a research group of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. We are exploring new ways to support children 3-12 years, particularly those under 8, to share their voices through creativity and play. As part of our 2025 activity in community healthcare settings, Voice Lab spoke to children about visiting new places, sharing their feelings, and being heard by their adults. This is what they told us:

Your generosity starts a conversation 

Since its pilot 12 years ago in 2014, Voice Lab has had nearly 1,800 conversations with children about their lived experiences and feelings. Their insights have informed:

• Local government policy & infrastructure
• Services & programs for children & young people, including young carers, & those who have a family member living with mental health challenges
• Support for students transitioning to primary & high school

Voice Lab is highly sophisticated and currently requires specialised knowledge. This AusArt Day (22 October) we are aiming to raise $5000 to support technical and design upgrades that will streamline how Voice Lab works, as well as training more artists in its delivery. Together, we can ensure as many children as possible are being heard in their local communities.

Get in touch

To discuss how you can use Voice Lab, please contact: 

Lexie Wood, Project Manager
T: 03 9826 3301 | E: lexie@polyglot.org.au