For this unit, Sound, in our STEAM course Light, Sound, and Time we explored the way that sound is not only produced, but how we interpret sound. Sound can deceive us depending on the way that we interpret it. We looked into the anatomy of the ear including how the pinna gets funneled into the eardrum to the three small bones called, the ossicles, to the cochlea which transfers sound to our brain. We also had the opportunity to visit the Chicago Hearing Society where we were able to speak to some people who were deaf, we were able to ask them questions, etc. This was a nice opportunity for us to be able to look at the world in a different lens once we realized the challenges that came along with living in a society that is not accepting to marginalized communities. We also had a guest come in who was a sound therapist. She was able to give us a performance using different instruments that allowed us to not only calm us down, but also applied science. The doppler effect was phenomenon that we looked into throughout the course. This is when a sound source may appear to be heading towards us giving us a higher pitch than when the sound is heading away from us making sounds appear further away. For this AP, we made our own Diddley bows! The materials needed was an aluminum can, a battery, wood, a guitar string, and screws. The screws were used as tuning pegs to increase tension when wrapping the guitar string around the screw. The piece of wood was able to be used as fretboard, and the aluminum can was used as a soundboard in order to amplify sound. You can learn more about this AP down below!
Audio recording of my Diddley bow!
To conclude, I really enjoyed this AP. I thought it was a nice opportunity to learn more about not only sound, but think about it in the way that it may deceive us at times. I also thought it was interesting to get the different opinions from the people at the Chicago Hearing Society, and understanding that there is more that can be done in this world to include everyone. Next time, I would like to see what other instruments could be made with basic materials that I could find around my home. There are instruments waiting to be created around me, and I think this AP allowed me to understand that.
