We explore the scientific topics of vibrations, waves and frequency (musical pitch), suitable for primary school audiences. I constructed the 20-minute sound show from several Questacon-standard demonstrations plus two novel demonstrations, and took the show on tour across ACT and outback Queensland with the Questacon Science Circus in 2021.

One challenge with the 2021 tour was that we couldn't come into close contact with audience members, as infectious disease precaution. With Processing and p5js I rigged up a synthesiser where the sound's frequency was controlled by motion tracking a volunteer... from a healthy distance! Lucky volunteers got to manipulate sound with their bodies, and my Sound Show was the only one to feature volunteer interaction in the 2021 tour.

100% of teachers surveyed during the performance agreed that my co-presenter and I were engaging; 64% were in strong agreement. A recording of one show, submitted for assessment, received a grade of 94%, indicating a very high standard of development and delivery.

You were able to explain scientific concepts in kid friendly language which made the delivery of your show easier for the children to engage in
- Classroom teacher feedback

Very engaging, had great behaviour management to settle the kids before speaking, very respectful when speaking to students
- Classroom teacher feedback

Great job with on the spot Improv
- Classroom teacher feedback

Topics covered

• A short meditation with the Weather Warlock: how does sound make us feel?
• Sound is produced by vibrations traveling through the air and into our ears. But can we also see the these vibrations?
• Amplification is when we make small vibrations bigger.
• How quickly is the thing vibrating? We call this frequency. We explore low and high frequencies with a synthesiser, and discover young children can hear higher-frequency sounds than adults - great for whispering in class!
• Sound travels through air... but what does it sound like if there's no air? We hear what it's like inside of an evacuated bell jar, and find out why they say nobody can hear you scream in space.
• Can we use what we know about vibrations, frequency and amplification to make the biggest, loudest, most disgusting sound with the rubber-glove-a-phone

Deeper messages

• Art and science going hand-in-hand
• The scientific method as "question, guess, test"
• Can we observe effects indirectly, when direct observation is more difficult? For instance, vibrations from a tuning fork that cause water to jump out of a cup