From there, the kids got to move through three exploratory stations. At one table, students used a tuning fork to create sounds and noticed that they could actually see the sound producing vibrations. Holding the tuning fork next to a styrofoam ball, they saw how the sound vibrations actually caused the ball to move! They tried to see how many times their tuning fork's vibration could bounce the ball.
Another table was covered with various metal instruments - a hanger, a spring, a spoon, a potato masher, a wrench. Each thing had two strings attached with loops on the ends. The kids put their fingers through the loops and touched their fingers to their ears as they then banged the instrument against the side of the table. The sounds transformed from bangy-clangy noises to deeper, richer bonging which made many kids think of church bells.
At the last station, each spot was set with a mallet, a tuning fork and a dish of water. The task was to hit the tuning fork with the mallet, hold it in the water dish and see what happened. They were very surprised to see that they were suddenly in the "splash zone"! The vibrations of the tuning fork caused major disturbance to the surface of the water.
The kids all had a blast with these hands-on experiences! We're sure you all got a kick out of the "quackers" they brought home (though it may have lost its luster in a few short quacks...). Ms. Talbot actually had a huge one made of a large bucket which was SUPER LOUD! You may notice your child now paying more attention to the sounds things around the house make or find "tuning fork" on their birthday list. This program generated a lot of interest and enthusiasm about sound!
Check out the pictures below from both class visits:
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