Talking About Good Vibrations
Animals, including humans, feel sound as well as hear it, and good vibrations are a key to insect communication.
The NPR (National Public Radio) series “Close Listening Series: Decoding Nature through Sound,” explores ways biologists are using sound to understand animal behavior.
Noisy Bug Sing-Along introduces children to interesting insects (life science) and the sound vibrations they create (physical science).
Children are treated to scientifically accurate, up-close depictions of some very cool bugs. It explains why the bugs make the sounds they do, and how they do it—and it’s not with their voices!
New technologies have revealed this hidden vibrational world to scientists, and your students can see what sound waves look like with these audio files.
Click here for a complete lesson plan that engages children by having them feel the vibrations they make when they hum. Then, through a demonstration, they learn the four ways that bugs make sound vibrations. The lesson ends with a fun, creative activity—designing an imaginary bug and creating the sound it makes.
