The second graders at Tuttle Elementary have just completed a hands-on unit about sound.  Through science experiments in the media center,  music classroom, and their regular classrooms, the students learned about pitch and how sound waves travel.
 

In music class the students discovered how a double-reed instrument creates a sound.  They took a straw and flattened the end and cut it into a point.  When the students blew through the straw, the vibrations of the straw created a sound. They then had to predict what would happen if a straw were cut in half; then actually did so and compared the sounds.  

They also predicted and experimented with what would happen if someone had a longer straw. They added paper cups to the ends to show how a bell of an instrument works to project the sound.  The conclusion was the longer/bigger an instrument is, the lower pitch it will have.  Thus the shorter/smaller an instrument is, the higher pitch it will have. 

In the media center experiments, the students used cup and string phones, funnels, and water to learn how sound travels and is best heard. They experimented with a tuning fork and balloons with rice inside to see how sound waves move and can move objects. They would strike the tuning fork on the table and then touch it to the balloon.  The sound waves would make the rice in the balloon jump. They also put the tuning fork to a ping pong ball on a string. The ping pong ball would jump from the sound waves. 

Through these interactive activities the students have a greater understanding of pitch and sound waves, and enjoyed their hands-on experiences.