Kids Takeover - Soundscape Summer School
Hi and welcome! A few of us have been working with scientists from the university hearing institute to see what happens when we look at sound. Over 2 days we looked at different experiments, some of the most enjoyable involved the science of sound.
Here are a few of the ones we used that you could do when you’re at home using everyday household items to bring sound to life.
These experiments have not been specifically safety tested for home use but we believe them to be safe if the instructions are followed. Adult supervision is recommended as appropriate.
Create your own Laser Gun Sound
Create your own Laser Gun sound it's simple and it sounds like a real sound effect from Star Wars!
Supplies needed:
• A metal slinky
• Disposable cup
What to do:
1. Place the empty cup into the top of the slinky
2. Hold the cup and let the slinky drop.
3. Tap the bottom of the slinky and it’ll make laser noises!
Slinkies make sound because they vibrate when they stretch out. When they vibrate, they make the air around them vibrate. Both the cup and the air inside it vibrate with the vibrations of the slinky. These build up, and the sound gets louder. This is called amplification.
Paper Cup and String Phone
We had lots of fun with this the adults in the room told us they created these when they were younger to try to communicate with each other and we tried it to see if it really worked.
Supplies needed:
• 2 paper cups
• Long string
• A sharp pencil or needle to poke holes in the cups
• Scissors
What to do: 1. Start by cutting a long piece of string of at least 50 feet.
2. Poke a small hole at the bottom of each cup.
3. Using each end of the string, thread it through the bottoms of the cups, tying a large knot so that the string does not fall out of the cup. If you make the holes too large, use a washer or paper clip to hold the string in place so that it does not pull out of the cup.
4. Move into position make sure you move away from you so that the string is far enough to make it tight. Be sure that the string does not touch any other object and that it remains suspended in air as you complete the experiment.
5. Taking turns, talk into the cup, while the other person listens by putting the cup to their ear.
sound waves created by talking through the cup travel through the line to the other end, converting back to sound on the opposite side!
Sounds Travel Underwater
Sound travels well through air, but it travels even better through water! This easy sound experiment for you to try.
Supplies needed:
• A bucket filled with water
• A large plastic water bottle
• Metal spoons
• Scissors or sharp knife to cut the bottle
What to do:
1. After filling the bucket with water, take a sharp knife or kitchen scissors and help your child cut off the bottom of the plastic water bottle. Be sure that the cap is taken off of the bottle.
2. Then place the bottle in the water so that the cut bottom is in the water. then put your ear to the top of the bottle to listen.
3. Using the kitchen spoons, clang them together to make a sound, but do this in the bucket as you are listening. What do you hear?
You have probably noted that the sound of the clanging is loud and clear. Water travels faster through water than in the air!
See the Sound
Sound vibrations travel through air, water, and even solid objects, but it’s not possible to see the waves. What if we could see the waves in another way? We created this sound experiment which makes sound more visible by forcing objects to react to the sound vibrations.
Supplies needed:
• Big speaker
• Plastic wrap
• Tape
• Powder Paint
What to do:
1. Wrap a sheet of plastic wrap over the speaker funnel so that it’s taut, and secure with masking tape Be sure that the plastic wrap is tight and does not sag.
2. Place a few of the spoons of powder Paint on the top of the plastic wrap, placing them in the middle of the wrap.
3. Turn on the base in the speaker by playing music look what happens
4. Experiment with louder and softer pitch and tone to see how the paint react to the sound vibrations!
Experimenting with Sound Waves
It might be hard to imagine that sound waves can travel through solid objects as well as through the air. This simple but exciting sound waves science activity will demonstrate for your child how sound can and does indeed travel through solid objects!
Supplies needed:
• Metal kitchen spoon- a large metal measuring spoon works great!
• At least 30 inches of string
What to do:
1. Stretch out the string and tie the handle of the spoon in the middle of the string
Take one end of the string and tie around your child’s pointer finger. Do the same using the other end, but tie this string around the pointer finger of your child’s opposite hand.
3. Instruct your child to put his or her fingers, with the string wrapped around each, into their ears.
4. Help your child lean over so the spoon dangles and help him or her swing the spoon so it hits a nearby door or wall.
5. Hit the door or wall again, but this time with more force. What does your child hear?
Your child should hear a bell-like sound travel up the string from the spoon and into their ears.
The funny thing about this is that nobody else hears it like you do. And everyone is shocked at how loud the sound is!
The Science Behind It:
When the spoon hits another surface, it will vibrate. These vibrations make the air around it move too. These are sound waves! The vibrations, or sound waves, move up the string and allow your ears to hear it. Sound travels best through a solid object, not the air.
Hear the explanation here:
Cardboard Tubes Organ
We’ll be using a number of cardboard tubes to make a pipe organ.
carpet tubes, or tubes from rolls of gift wrap work great. You can also use regular paper towel or toilet paper tubes.
Supplies Needed:
• Cardboard Tubes/Paper Towel Tube
• Scissors
• A flip flop
• Rubber bands or tape
What to do:
1. Cut the tubes into various lengths, roughly 1 inch difference between the tubes
2. Arrange the tube longest to shortest from left to right
3. Make sure the tops of the tubes are level
4. Use the flip flop to strike the top of each tube
You can then make your own musical soundtrack create other musical instruments to create your own band.
Hear the explanation here:
Create your own sound suit
Part of our research was to see what different sounds we could make or hear and how can we record them to create our own sound scape one of the fun ways to do this was to design our own sound suit. We were all given a white paper dust suit that we can decorate with crayons, and pens and by adding different craft materials to so that the suits make a sound when you move in them—whooshing, clacking, rustling.
We then used simple recording devices like the ones you get in fancy greeting cards to record our movements in the suits.
We tried lots of fun ways to capture sound like rolling or running down the hill, jumping, shouting, whispering
Why not have a good and making your own sound suit
You will need:
• 1 paper dust suit
• Pens and crayons or paints
• Making tape
• Craft materials like pipe cleaners, crisp packets, bells
What to do:
1. Decorate your suit any way you like its great to create something that celebrates you
2. Attach your craft ideas with tape
3. You can either attach the sound recorders to your suit remember to press the record button before you start, or you can hold it in your hands while you try lots of new ways to make sounds.
4. Listen to your results you can then mix and add sounds together to create your own soundscape see if anyone can guess which sounds are which.
Create your own sound helmet
Just like the suit using everyday items you have at home like tubes, or funnels you can create your own sound helmet a way to try to hear different sounds and also try to recognise which way the sound is coming from have fun playing with this we used a simple bike helmet so that we can easier attach things but you can use an old hat or anything else you can find like a collider or saucepan.
EXPLAINED: THE RANGE OF HUMAN HEARING