Homemade Musical Instrument Project

One of my favorite units to teach is the Science of Sound Unit in the 6th grade. The students discover all about what causes the different sounds that they hear. They learn terms such as; frequency, amplitude, dynamics, vibration and timbre.

We conducted many experiments in this unit to see if we can see, hear or determine what, in fact, causes the vibration in each of the different materials within the experiments. The students were surprised to find out that what they thought might happen was not always the case. They had a great time with the experiments themselves and truly learned about each of the terms in the process.

The last activity they do in this unit is apply all of the knowledge they learned to making their very own instruments. They have to make an instrument that looks pleasant, will make a good sound, is made of all original, non-constructed materials and shows a great deal of effort. They are turning these in this coming Tuesday and I can't wait to see what they have come up with. Here are some pictures of ones that I have received already!