Good Vibrations

Pre-Visit Activity:

Materials:
Small empty boxes
Wide assortment of rubber bands (different thicknesses)
Guitar

This activity allows students to experiment with a pitch. The pitch of a sound - how high or low it is - varies with the frequency of the sound waves ( the speed of the vibrations). A sound vibration with a high pitch is one that happens at very short, frequent intervals.

1. Have students work in teams with different rubber bands and a box. Stretch rubber bands around the box the short way. Have students pluck the rubber bands with their fingers. Have them record their observations. (sight and sound)
2. Have students change direction of rubber bands around the box. Have them record their observations and compare results. (Pitch will be higher as rubber bands are stretched tighter and thinner.)
3. Have students observe a guitar. Have students predict which string will make the lowest sound and which will make the highest sound.

Post-Visit Activity:

1. Have students collect pictures of sound words, ones that illustrate words like buzz, meow, slap, slurp, drip, plop, hiss, chirp, tick-tock, knock-knock, etc.
2. Teach the class how to say the word onomatopoeia, the formation of a name or word by imitating the sound associated with the thing designated. (Also, it is the only word in the English language with four different vowels in a row.)
3. To give them more practice, have them create some poems or illustrate their own words.

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