Light and Sound Brochure. Techniquest Stuart Street Cardiff Bay Cardiff CF10 5BW. Tel:

Transcription

1 Light and Sound Brochure Techniquest Stuart Street Cardiff Bay Cardiff CF10 5BW Tel:

2 How do reflections work? Children observe how simple stretched shapes circles, diamonds, hearts are corrected by the curved mirror. They then try drawing their own shapes for the mirror to correct. The unexpected effects produced by the curved mirror encourage children to think more about the process of reflection, laying the basis for a theoretical understanding at Key Stage 3. 1

3 Could you hear more if you could move your ears? Children put on a pair of headphones fitted with hoses ending in funnels. They point the funnels towards or away from sources of sound to find whether they could hear more if they could move their ears. They then try a second headset with fixed funnels to see the difference. This activity works particularly well in pairs or with small groups. The child wearing the headphones can close his or her eyes, while a partner calls or claps from various directions. The first child tries to turn the ears towards the source of the sound. As a cross-curricular feature, children are asked to think of animals that can move their ears and to consider how this may be useful to them. Ear size may also be considered. 2

4 How does sound travel? Children see a familiar MP3 player through the acrylic surface of the activity. They know that they cannot hear music from an MP3 player without earphones or other additional equipment. Imagine their surprise when they find they can use a small pot to transmit the sound. They are next asked to substitute a rod or even a tube for the pot and to place an ear to the end of the rod. Finally, children try transmitting the sound themselves, but using a forearm in place of the rod. The clear message is that sound needs a medium. What is the difference between high and low notes? Children sing into the machine and see volume reflected in the height of the red bars, while the pitch of the notes is registered along the horizontal axis, both clearly labelled. Young children find it difficult to distinguish between high pitch and loud volume, low pitch and soft volume. This activity gives them visual feedback to develop that understanding, while the dancing bars of light make the experience quite riveting. 3

5 Can you reflect sound? Children press a button and move the Echo Locator about. Beeps start slowly and come faster as the Echo Locator nears an object. Now, children are invited to walk about with the Echo Locator and listen to the beeps as they approach various objects. Children are asked, How does the Echo Locator warn you not to bump into things? How could you use the Echo Locator to walk around in the dark? As a cross-curricular point, children are also asked which animals use echo location. In daily life, children come to understand that mirrors and other bright surfaces reflect light. With this activity, they become aware that objects reflect sound. They can then investigate what qualities in an object affect how well it reflects sound and try to predict what types of objects and surfaces will reflect sound best. 4

6 How does your voice work? Children press the wand an artificial larynx to their necks, press the button and mouth words. A robot-like voice is produced. This astonishing effect experienced via their own throats helps children to recognise that sound requires a medium. This is a strongly cross-curricular activity, with its tie-ins to human physiology and disability issues. Can you see around corners? This is a game in which children learn how light travels. Partner one hides the dragon among the trees and houses. Partner two looks through the periscope and and uses the mirror blocks to see around corners to find the dragon. The periscope itself, of course, also sees around corners. This is a very useful activity for working out that light travels in straight lines and can be reflected at various angles. 5

7 How does a mirror change an image? Children trace a maze path in a mirror and find that it isn t easy at all. Every time they stray off the path, a buzzer sounds. The children investigate and find that the mirror has reversed the image, producing what is known as a mirror image. Children are asked to follow up the cross curricular perceptual aspect of the activity by finding out whether it becomes easier to follow the line, the more they practise. They can later investigate why this might be. What happens when you mix coloured lights? This activity looks like a Venn diagram with red, green and blue light sources ranged around a central well. Children try mixing the (additive) primary colours to see what colours they can produce. Children quickly acquire practical skill and knowledge through this experimentation, while laying the basis for a theoretical understanding at Key Stage 3. 6

8 Can you change the shape of a shadow? Children operate flashing lights in various sequences from three small towers. They observe shadows growing and shrinking as the height of the light source changes. Children are asked to come up with two different ways to make a shadow taller. They need to work out that that they can vary the length of a shadow both by changing the height of the light source and by varying the distance of the object from the light source. As a cross curricular extension, children can look at how the angle of light from the sun varies at different times of day and measure this with their own shadows. Children could also be asked to research how the angle of solar panels can be adjusted to make full use of electricity generating potential throughout the course of a day and how this changes with the seasons. 7

9 What makes a note high or low? Young children find it difficult to compare notes of different pitch. When asked which note is higher or lower, they find it very hard to say. In this activity, we have four flexible tubes of clearly demarcated lengths. The first is one unit long, the second is two units long, etc. The ends of the tubes are fixed in a frame, with a sound plate that children strike with a rubber paddle to produce a sound. Children are invited to sing the notes that they produce, so that they can feel them in their own bodies. In this way, they recognise the tighter feel of the high note, the looser feel of the low note. They can then compare the length of the tubes and work out what makes a note higher or lower. 8