Script [5 min]: Welcome to Ingenia’s Musical Instrument Maker Lab! Here we see lots of different kinds of engineers working together to invent new kinds of musical instruments. For example, we see mechanical engineers (engineers who explore how things are made and built) and acoustical engineers (engineers who explore sound and vibrations) collaborating on the construction of a new type of guitar– how exciting!
Here at Ingenia’s Musical Instrument Maker Lab, the engineers love to invent new instruments, especially out of recycled materials. Have you ever made a musical instrument before? What materials did you use [pause for student responses]. You don’t have to be an acoustical engineer to make a great instrument. Let’s watch a short video of a musician and artist showing us how he makes musical instruments out of “found” objects, such as a guitar made from a tennis racket or a piano made from old radios:
Watch 1 min Video (pbslearningmedia.org - Excerpted from PINKALICIOUS & PETERRIFIC™)
Source: © 2018 WGBH Educational Foundation. All rights reserved. Pinkalicious, Peter & the other Victoria Kann Pinkalicious characters and underlying materials (including artwork) are trademarks and copyrights of Victoria Kann; the texts of the Pinkalicious and Purplicious books were written by, and are copyrights of, Victoria Kann and Elizabeth Kann. Used with permission.
Today you will be applying some acoustical engineering skills when you build and test a loud noisemaker! You will also be learning a lot more about sound and volume. Are you ready to get started?
Script [5 min]: Today we will be exploring volume. Does anyone know what the word volume means? [Pause for student responses]. Volume means how loud or quiet a sound is. We are going to do an activity where we organize ourselves in a “Sound Line” from silent to quiet to medium volume to very very loud! We will all be saying the word “hello” but at different volumes. Are you ready to try it?
Activity [15 min]: Students work together as a whole group to organize themselves into a line from quietest “hello” to the loudest “hello.” Once they get in line they should practice saying “hello” at incremental increases in volume (e.g., the first student in line just mouths a silent “hello,” the next student does a very quiet whisper, and so on). It may take a few rounds of trial and error to get the sound line in the correct order.
Read [5 min]: Read the picture book Sound: Loud, Soft, High, and Low by Natalie Myra Rosinsky out loud (or play Youtube read aloud video) (www.youtube.com/@kacieroyal8541)
Debrief [5 min]: Debrief on the book using one or more of the following prompts:
Materials Needed: A mix of craft and recycled materials for students to explore (e.g., tape, rubber bands, boxes, jars, fabric, paper, etc.)
Script [5 min]: In the last activity, we explored volume with our voices. Now, we will be exploring different materials that can be used in different ways to make loud or quiet sounds.You can try shaking, clapping, tapping these materials and more!* Your goal is to think about which materials can be used to make the loudest and softest noises.
*Teaching note: Teachers may wish to devote a few minutes talking about safe use of the materials and providing any rules or guidelines about how to engage with the materials to make loud noises while still being safe and respectful.
Exploration of Materials [10 min]: Provide students with free time to explore a variety of craft and recycled materials to determine which ones would work well to make a loud sound.
Debrief [5 min] - Debrief on this activity using one or more of the following prompts:
Students use what they’ve learned about materials and sound to engineer a loud noisemaker.
*This lesson was inspired by and adapted from this Engineering is Elementary’s Wee Engineer unit.
5 min Script: People can engineer technologies that change the way we hear things. Today, you’ll be engineering a loud noisemaker. To do this, you’ll explore and select a container and the materials to go inside the container. To make a loud noise, you’ll shake the filled container and listen to the sound it makes.
NOTE: If students are unfamiliar with what a noisemaker is, demonstrate things like maracas or rain sticks that make noise in a similar way.
35 min Dismiss students to begin engineering a noisemaker. Circulate as students engineer to support the process and ask:
5 min Gather students together. Lead a group discuss:
Script [2 min]: Now that our noise makers are made, let’s put them to use! We will form a parade marching around the classroom shaking our noisemakers. We can march, dance, and shake our noisemakers as loud as we would like during this activity!
Parade [8 min]: Have students march through the classroom in a noisemaker parade. Play music if you would like.
Teaching Note: Consider making accommodations for any students who may have difficulty with loud noises such as headphones or an alternate activity in a quiet location.
Students should keep their noisemakers at school for use in the next activity. Instead, encourage parents and caregivers to ask students one or more of the following prompts:
If students would like to make another noisemaker at home, encourage caregivers to provide basic craft materials for students to explore and continue testing out new designs!
