Exploratorium


 * __SUBJECT:__** SOUND


 * __KEY IDEAS:__**
 * 1) Have the kids understand that sounds is a wave
 * 2) Pitch is determined by the size of the object that is making a sound.
 * 3) Tension effects the pitch of the sound**.**


 * __DEMOS:__**
 * 1) Using the tuning forks that are in class hit them to show that the different size forks make different sounds. When they are making a sound put them on the table to show that the vibrating tuning forks then has its vibrations vibrate the table thus making the table have the same sound.
 * 2) With a guitar play each string then tune and un-tune the string to show that as the string is tightened it creates a higher note.
 * 3) Construct a xylophone with different size tubes to hit. The students will see that the smaller tubes make a higher pitch sound and the larger tubes make a lower sound.
 * 4) (Take Home) Create a guitar shoebox. Have a shoe box or tissue box as well as rubber bands and a piece of wood also for a fretboard. The rubber bands will vary in tension in order to create different notes for each string.

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/sound/ http://www.education.com/activity/article/Make_Shoe_Box_Guitar/
 * __RESEARCH:__**


 * __MATERIALS:__**
 * 1) Rubber Bands varying in tension
 * 2) Tissue Boxes/ Shoe Boxes
 * 3) Boom Whackers
 * 4) Acoustic Guitar
 * 5) Different Note Tuning Forks
 * 6) Five Tone Twirling Pipe
 * 7) Rubber Mallets
 * 8) Pencils (bridge for the guitar)
 * 9) Scissors
 * 10) Beaker with water
 * 11) Plastic Cup
 * 12) Different masses
 * 13) Pulley
 * 14) Guitar String

__**SCRIPT:**__

Hello class and welcome to my station. Here you will learn about sound and what exactly sound is. The first thing I am going to show you is how objects make a noise when you hit them. (I will then hold up two different tuning forks one that is bigger than the other)

Which tuning fork do you think will make the higher pitch sound? The smaller one

I will then hit the two tuning forks to show that the smaller one makes the higher pitch sound compared to the larger one.

As the two forks are still ringing I will place them onto a desk and to show that the forks are vibrating and they will then cause the table to make the same sound as the fork. Then I will place the tuning fork into a beaker filled with water. The fork will vibrate in the water and water will splash around. I will then ask the audience why the table is making the noise. They will hopefully say that the tuning fork is vibrating.

Next I will take out my guitar and start to play it showing that the strings vibrate when they are strummed. I will ask the audience what do you think will happen if I turn the tuning pegs on the top of the guitar. The audience will then say that the sound of the strings will change. I will proceed to tune and de-tune the stings of my guitar to show the audience that the tension of a string affects the sound it makes. As the strings get tighter the pitch of the notes increases because the sound waves travel faster when the strings are tighter so the pitch increases as the speed increases. To demonstrate how the speed effects the sound I will spin the tone twirling pipe fast enough to have the lowest pitch. The I will spin it faster which will increase the pitch of the pipe. I will then show how the pitch of the guitar changes as I place my fingers further down the fretboard. On the table will be a guitar string with a weight hanging from it and a cup under the string. I will ask the audience to come up and pluck the string and move the cup up and down. This will change the pitch and further demonstrate how the length of the string as well as the tension of the string effects the pitch of the string.

The last demo I will be doing is the Boom Whackers. I will ask the audience which pipe they think will sound the lowest and which pipe they think will sound the highest. They will say that the longest pipe will be the lowest and the smallest pipe will be the highest. I will hand out a boom whacker to each person in the audience and have them hit the boom whacker with their hand. They will see that each one makes a different noise and that the longer ones make a lower pitch noise than the smaller ones. I will explain how the sound wave has to travel through the tube and when it does that it starts to get slower and when the sound wave gets slower the pitch of the sound will decrease.

(I will then hand out a box, pencil, rubber bands, and piece of wood to all the children in the audience.) Now we are going to make a guitar out of these materials. How we are going to do this is by cutting out the circle drawn on the top of the box. (I will demonstrate how to cut the hole). You may want to consider precutting these... that's what assistants are for! We will then put the six rubber bands on the box over the hole(I will demonstrate how to do this). Next we will put a pencil under the six rubber bands. Finally we will cut out the other hole drawn on the side of the box to put the cardboard cylinder. (I will demonstrate how to do this)

Ok so what did we all learn today? The kids will tell me that they learned about sounds and what affects the way they hear sound as well as how it is created and altered.


 * __Poster:__**



Much Improved. Thanks for taking the suggestions and incorporating them.