Week 1 of The Science of sound (2025 update)
Educational and Fun Activities
Written by Amelia Hart
02 August 2024
🕓 10 min
Welcome to Week 1 of The Science of Sound — where science meets creativity, and curiosity leads the way! This blog captures highlights from the first week of our 2025 holiday camps, showcasing how sound becomes a powerful tool for discovery, connection, and joy.
Our approach blends hands-on learning with storytelling and imagination, giving children aged 5–12 a sensory-rich gateway into core STEM concepts. Across five themed days, campers explored vibrations, resonance, animal communication, body language, and physics through sound. Each activity was designed to nurture scientific thinking while empowering kids to experiment, ask questions, and celebrate what makes them unique.
Whether you’re a parent wondering what your child gets up to at camp or an educator seeking inspiration for sound-based learning, this series will offer insight, inspiration, and ideas you can use year-round.
Let’s dive into the sonic excitement of Week 1!
1. Crafting Tube Kazoos
We kicked off the week with a classic crowd-pleaser: homemade kazoos. This simple experiment turns cardboard tubes and wax paper into musical magic. Children covered one end of their tubes with wax paper secured by rubber bands, then added small holes near the top. When they hummed into the open end, the paper vibrated — creating that familiar kazoo buzz.
This hands-on activity was a perfect gateway into the science of vibrations and resonance. It helped children understand how sound waves are produced and how those waves interact with materials to change the sound. They also explored how the tightness of the paper and the size of the holes altered pitch and volume.
By creating and modifying their instruments, kids exercised both creative thinking and scientific observation — essential skills in every scientist’s toolkit. And best of all? Everyone left with a kazoo of their own to share the science (and the sound) at home!
2. Exploring Duck Sounds and Duck Whistles
On Day 2, we explored sound in the animal kingdom with a special focus on ducks and their vocal behaviours. Children listened to a variety of duck calls, learning that ducks use different sounds for mating, alerting danger, or staying in touch with their flock. This sparked a lively discussion about animal communication and the role of sound in nature.
We then tried out duck whistles, tools that mimic these natural calls. Children experimented with pitch and tone by adjusting how they blew into the whistle — soft versus strong airflow made all the difference. It was a fun way to explore how humans recreate animal sounds and use sound for imitation and learning.
The activity reinforced ideas about pitch, frequency, and breath control, giving kids a chance to reflect on the science behind voice modulation. Plus, it highlighted the importance of sound as a communication tool, both in nature and our daily lives.
3. Human Body Language Through Sound
Midweek, we shifted focus from nature to human interaction — exploring how tone, pitch, and expression shape the way we communicate. Children learned that sound isn’t just what we hear, but also how we feel it. We explored how body language and vocal tone work together to send powerful messages.
Using fun role-play scenarios, campers acted out different emotions using only their tone of voice and gestures. They noticed how happiness lifts the pitch, anger adds volume, and sadness slows everything down. Then, we layered in facial expressions and posture to examine how all these signals combine to enhance understanding.
This session encouraged emotional intelligence and sound awareness, helping children interpret meaning beyond words — a key life skill in social settings, classrooms, and beyond. It was also a chance to highlight how non-verbal communication plays a role in storytelling, performance, and even scientific presentations. Sound, it turns out, is deeply human.
4. Exploring Frogs and Their Sounds
On Day 4, we leapt into the fascinating world of frogs and their calls. Children listened to a variety of frog sounds from across the globe — from deep croaks to high-pitched chirps. We discussed how frogs use these sounds to attract mates, warn off predators, or communicate across ponds and wetlands.
This led us into a brilliant conversation about vocal anatomy. Campers discovered how frogs use their vocal sacs to amplify sound, making their small bodies capable of surprisingly loud calls. We even experimented with inflating balloons and stretching rubber to simulate how these sacs work.
To deepen their understanding, kids tried mimicking frog sounds using cups, straws, and their own voices. This playful session reinforced lessons on amplitude, vibration, and sound propagation in ecosystems.
By connecting wildlife science to hands-on learning, we helped campers appreciate the diversity of sound in nature — and the evolutionary brilliance behind every ribbit.
5. Creating Jumping Frogs
To end Week 1 on a high note (and a spring!), we combined sound science with physics and creativity by making origami jumping frogs. Campers folded colourful paper into frog shapes and adjusted their folds to create springy back legs. With just a press and release, their frogs launched forward — a perfect demonstration of energy in motion.
This hands-on activity illustrated the difference between potential and kinetic energy. When the folded legs were pressed down, energy was stored. Once released, that energy transformed into motion — leaping frogs everywhere!
The session was more than just paper play. Children learned how the structure of the frog impacted how far and how straight it jumped, encouraging experimentation and iteration. We also connected it back to real frogs, discussing how leg muscles and timing contribute to their powerful jumps.
It was a joyful, active way to reinforce scientific thinking — and a great reminder that learning should always leap off the page.
Final Thoughts
Week 1 of The Science of Sound has been a vibrant mix of science, creativity, and sensory exploration. From homemade kazoos and duck whistles to human expressions and leaping frogs, every day gave campers a chance to discover new ideas while having fun. Through hands-on challenges and open-ended questions, children built a stronger understanding of sound and a deeper appreciation for how it shapes our world.
This week wasn’t just about learning science — it was about building confidence, encouraging teamwork, and helping children find joy in experimentation. Each activity was carefully crafted to link STEM principles with imagination and movement, making it an ideal launchpad for further discovery.
🌟 Want your child to be part of the adventure? Explore our holiday camps and register now for Summer Splash 2025. Week 2 promises even more science, sound, and smiles — we can’t wait to welcome your child into the next chapter!
