SCHOOL: West Clayton Elementary

GRADE LEVEL: 2nd

PROGRAM: Sound Surprise

INSTRUCTOR: Scientist Rachel

DATE: Wednesday, November 6, 2013

TEACHER(S) NAME: Akers, Nguyen and Shearon

Scientist Rachel’s Experience:

I knew my day was going to be a good one, when one student handed me a letter asking brilliant science questions and expressing her desire to be a scientist! The good vibes continued, as I had the chance to be an acoustical engineer alongside the 2nd grade students at West Clayton Elementary, and had a FANTASTIC time!

The program started off with a bang, as the students were all quite surprised when a needle slid right through a balloon, and then popped when they were least expecting it! This led us into an inquisitive discussion about how sound moves in vibrations, how we can make a high pitch and a low pitch sound, and how the molecules move in different sounds. By using a tuning fork, the students saw first hand that sound travels through gasses, solids, and even liquids – and can even splash us in the face!

We continued our sound exploration, by looking at the ear of a giant that I came across on my way to the school (but don’t worry, I gave it back), and learned how sounds travel through the ear and all the way to the brain. The students then had the chance to make their own tympanic membrane (ear drum) and experiment to make the faux ear wax bounce like popcorn!

Finally, we reached my favorite experiment of the program…we made our own slimy ear wax! The students were phenomenal scientists and experimented with their ear wax by making super slimy sounds and by making giant bubbles!

The smiles, hugs, and words of thanks that I received truly made my day, and I look forward to doing even more science with these AWESOME classes in the future!

Thanks West Clayton 2nd graders!!