Exploring Sound

Our children never cease to amaze us with their ideas and willingness to explore and experiment! One of our children was playing with the large paper tubes in the building center and noticed that if he spoke in one end, his voice was amplified and seemed to travel to the other end. Some other children became fascinated and decided to connect multiple tubes together and see if they could create a 'tube telephone' that would reach into the classroom next door.

Problem solving how to connect the tubes efficiently and in a way that allowed the sound to travel and not escape through the openings between the tubes proved to be a challenge.

After each tube was connected the children would speak into it and see if their voices were still travelling to the end.

In the following video clip you can see the children experimenting with whether the tube is working, and you can hear the children on the other end (who are not visible in the video) saying they can't hear the speaker.

One group of boys worked on each end of the tube, which quickly grew in length.

We always love it when the children dress in role for their experience. Some gathered materials like ear protectors from the building center to enhance their role in this play.

Another challenge for the boys was problem solving how to prop the giant tube up. They used tables, chairs, and the ledge against the wall to support it.