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Exploring Sound Waves with a MEL Science STEM Kit

We recently explored the science of sound waves with a MEL Science STEM kit. My kids built a music box on their own with supplies from the kit. They also learned about vibration and sound waves with a lesson on the free MEL STEM app. They definitely learned a lot and enjoyed the activities in their STEM kit. Then we extended our learning with one of my favorite easy sound wave investigations.

MEL Science offers monthly subscription box STEM kits for kids. The kits come with everything kids need to complete a STEM project. My children loved doing the activities and made some great science connections and discoveries.

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Find out what we thought about our MEL STEM kit below. I've included a discount promo code so that you can try out MEL Science too!

You will also find out how you can teach about sound waves at home or school, whether you have a subscription STEM service or not.

Exploring Sound Waves with MEL Science

We were excited to dive into our MEL Science STEM kit. The box came with everything necessary to complete the project, including some extension activities and access to digital resources.

MEL science sound waves subscription STEM box

Our box, "Sound Waves" is part of the MEL STEM subscription box line. This subscription is designed for kids ages 5 and up. It was perfect for two of my children, ages 5 and 8.

We really liked that the instruction booklet included a story. As the kids built their music box, the story played out. It was an engaging way to connect with the science concepts in a kid friendly way.

MEL science instruction story sound waves

By taking turns the kids were able to work together independently to complete their task with very little arguing! They are familiar with LEGO and the instruction booklet is laid out in a similar way to a LEGO kit. Each page had a diagram for a single step and the materials needed to accomplish it.

Want to try a MEL Science STEM kit, too? Take 50% off your first box with our exclusive promo code: SHAREITSCIENCE Click here to get started.

Building a Music Box

The music box activity was a great way to connect the concept that vibrations make sound to a real life scenario. The kids were able to create their own songs by moving around the pieces that would make the hammers strike.

making a music box MEL Science STEM sound waves

In the finished product we wished the hammers hit the bars more accurately and firmly so the sound was louder and more consistent. However, this did give us the opportunity to think like engineers and discuss how we might redesign that one element to make it better.

Augmented Reality Sound Wave Lesson

In addition to the hands-on STEM project, we had access through the free MEL STEM app to a short science lesson on sound waves. We watched our interactive lesson using Augmented Reality (AR). The kids really got a kick out of seeing the animations sitting right on our kitchen table. We liked the characters and kid-friendly explanations.

While building my kids connected the concepts from the AR science lesson to their build. They recognized that the different sized bars would make either low or high sounds based on how fast they were vibrating.

Screenshot MEL STEM kit sound waves app AR augmented reality

MEL Science Perks

The instruction booklet offered several ideas for extension activities. With some adult assistance, kids can get a lot more out of their MEL Science STEM kit.

MEL Science also offers subscription plans and bulk prices for schools and other groups. You can learn more about school and bulk ordering here.

Want to try a MEL Science STEM kit? Take 50% off your first box with our exclusive promo code: SHAREITSCIENCE Click here to get started.

We Recommend MEL Science STEM Kits

We really enjoyed our MEL Science STEM Kit. I asked my kids what they liked best about it compared to other subscription box kits we've used before and they said they liked that there was an illustrated story in the instruction book. I agree that the story was a fun way for the kids to engage with the project.

I liked that my kids could easily work together to build something that they could use again later. Through the sound waves augmented reality science lesson on the free app they connected with science concepts in a fun and accessible way. The MEL Science Sound Waves box inspired some curiosity and a desire to continue to explore and play with the concept of sound waves.

We would highly recommend MEL Science to other families and students who enjoy hands-on building projects!

If you'd like to learn more about MEL Science kits, check out our review of the Heat Transfer physics science kit.

Dancing Salt: A Sound Waves Experiment

We played around with the concept of sound waves some more. Here is a little experiment I have used in the traditional science classroom.

For this sound waves experiment you will need:

A speaker or device that can produce loud sounds
An empty plastic container, like a yogurt tub
Salt, sugar, confetti (something small and light weight)
Plastic wrap or aluminum foil
Rubber band

Put some plastic wrap or foil over the opening of the recycled container. Set the container on or very close to your speaker. Sprinkle just a bit of salt, or something small and light weight on top of the plastic. Start your speaker at low volume and slowly increase.

What happens? Can you make the salt dance? What happens when you change the type of music? How does the vibration of high notes and low notes differ? Do you notice any patterns or interesting motion as you experiment with volume and music type?

Here is just a short clip of our experiment. In this clip we are using a microphone that is attached to the speaker.

Try it!

Jam Masters

(source)

As most of us know bats use their excellent sense of hearing and a system of echolocation to navigate and find food. Bats are not blind, however, they have poor vision and are active during the night, so they must depend on methods other than sight to maneuver and hunt. Echolocation is a method where an animal emits a sound, and then the echo of that sound bounces back to the animal. They can then determine the distance of an object based on the echo. Bats, dolphins, whales and shrews use echolocation.
A bat's ability to hone in on very small objects, such as insects, is amazing. In a paper recently published in Science there is evidence that bats are not only excellent at hunting this way, but the Mexican free-tailed bat is also able to thwart their competition from catching their food through sound. These bats "jam" another bat's echolocation so that they are 85.9% less likely to catch their prey. When a hunting bat is approaching its prey the echos become more frequent, creating what is referred to as the "feeding buzz". If another bat detects this feeding buzz, it emits very quick clicking sounds that "jam" the hunting bat's signal, thus causing it to just barely miss its prey.

It is thought that this must improve the signal jammer's ability to catch more food, but this has yet to be tested. Thus far the Mexican free-tailed bat is the only bat known to do this.

The use of echolocation and the ability to pinpoint such small objects is incredible. In addition to creatures in the animal world using this tactic it was recently determined that blind people may have the ability to use a form of echolocation to navigate as well. Researchers from the University of Southampton's Institute of Sound and Vibration Research (UK) and the University of Cyprus completed studies with blind and sighted test subjects to see how they could navigate using echos and clicks. This phenomena does not necessarily have to do with lack of sight, it involves the quality of one's hearing as well. National Geographic's Brain Games recently explored this phenomena as well. See it in action here. Pretty awesome! It makes you wonder how many other things humans and animals are capable of that have yet to be discovered.

Read more:

Science "Bats jamming bats: Food competition through sonar interference" (Abstract)

Science News: Bats jam each other in echolocation battles for food

National Geographic: Bats Make Calls to Jam Rival's Sonar- First Time Ever Found

Science Daily: Echolocation: Blind people have the potential to use their "inner bat" to locate objects, study finds (Many great related articles on this link as well!)

Echolocation Resources and Activities

Hands-on Activity: Echolocation in Action!

Tryscience.org Ocean Echolocation Activity

National Parks Service: Glacier Bay"Acoustics 2: Echolocation in Action" Lesson Plan

Lawrence Hall of Science: Whale Sounds Quiz

Echo the Bat Story nasa.gov

Music to Our Ears: Connections between Music and Language Development

A recent study in the Journal of Neuroscience indicates that 2 is the magic number when it comes to brain development associated with musical training. A team of researchers led by Nina Kraus, a neuroscientist from Northwestern University, evaluated brain responses in children enrolled in an enrichment music training program in Los Angeles. After 2 years of training, rather than only one, students could more easily distinguish the spoken sounds "ba" and "ga". These particular sounds are more difficult to discern if you have dyslexia or a language impairment. Perhaps studies like this will help us to understand how to support children in their reading and language skills.

This study is just one in a long line of recent research that indicates connections between music and brain development. Other studies have suggested that musicianship can improve memory, fine motor skills and the ability to pay attention to one thing while ignoring something else. This could be advantageous for students in classrooms where there is a lot of activity or noise. In one study, 6-year-olds who had 15 months of weekly keyboard lessons showed greater changes in their ability to control their finger movements and identify melodies and rhythm than students who attended music classes without instrument training. Parts of the brain that processes language also process music, which allows those with the ability to recognize errors in sentence syntax also recognize errors in chord structure. Clearly there is strong evidence linking musical training and language development.

With the common core's focus on literacy, I'd say this is compelling evidence to re-invest funds for music programming in schools. Is it too late for me to dust off my clarinet and give it another go?