1. Reading
We read "Squeak, Rumble, Whomp! Whomp! Whomp!: A Sonic Adventure" by Wynton Marsalis. It is about a young boy who focuses on all the different sounds he hears as he goes about his day.
2. Discussion
We discussed what sound is (vibrations) as well as the reasons different musical instruments make different sounds. After discussing a little about how sound is made and what makes sound louder or softer, we did an experiment. Before the program I tested a few ways to show the kids sound via an experiment and several of them flopped before I landed on one that worked.
I tried to do this one to show vibrations as well as a similar one that had me put my cell phone in the glass bowl and call it to show the rice moving on top of plastic wrap. Neither one did anything sooo, I found a simpler sound wave experiment on KCEdventures.
I put together several utensils on string to allow for large numbers of kids to do the experiment at the same time. Instead of a ruler to tap the utensils with I used larger serving spoons. I had my teen helpers walk around helping the kids get the yarn wrapped around their fingers and then tap on the utensils to feel the vibrations.
After all the kids (and some parents!) had an opportunity to experiment with the utensils, we talked about what they felt when the hanging utensils were hit with the serving spoons - sound vibrations and reverberations.
3. Craft
The craft the kids did this week was DIY harmonicas. There are many instructables online to show you how to make them. I walked the group through how to do them together. It was a simple craft but putting it together initially was a little tricky. Once they were finished, they could decorate the outside of their harmonicas. We had a chorus of noisy elephants at the end of the program!
Notes:
I loved the craft this week and it was a perfect way to show sound vibrating since that is how the DIY harmonica was making noise!
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