Hi all
My name is Ciara and I teach some very inquisitive boys in 1st and 2nd classes.
One of my favourite space facts is that in space, sound cannot travel because there is no air or other medium to carry sound waves. Astronauts can only hear music inside their spacecraft or through headphones.
I love sharing Chris Hadfield’s videos and songs from space with children.
Beginning with this topic of life in space, and specifically Music in Space, we discuss how astronauts listen to music inside the spacecraft.
I play a recording of music and ask students to imagine how it might feel to listen to their favorite songs while floating in space.
I then introduce the String Telephone, inviting the children to use plastic cups and string to create a simple string telephone. Subsequently, I let students experiment with speaking and listening through the cups to understand how sound travels through the string.
There is great chatter and engagement as they try to hear their partners across a busy room, or outside into yard if necessary. Advice is shared with each other on how to fix problems, or why one is functioning more successfully than another.
Finally I encourage students to ask more questions and think about other challenges and solutions for living and working in space, finishing up with some more clips of Chris Hadfield and the practicalities of life in space.