ABSTRACT
This chapter presents ideas for practice which can be used to structure children's exploration of the way sound is made through vibrations. At each level children progressively develop their understanding of the nature of sound, how it travels in different materials and the meaning of pitch and volume. Survival for many animals depends on their ability to produce and detect sounds. Some bats for example have evolved highly sophisticated ways of using sound. They emit high pitched ultrasounds that produce echoes when they bounce off objects. From these echoes bats can determine the size of the objects, how far away they are and how fast they are travelling, all in a split second. Sounds travel from their source through the air, and we detect them with our ears. As they travel through the air sounds get fainter and become more difficult to detect.
