Camp Wonderopolis in libraries: Jan Moran Collier City Learning Library part 2
Jan Moran Collier City Learning Library, located in Florida, was one of three libraries across the country to be awarded a grant to be a Camp Wonderopolis site. The library staff shared the following about their program.
“Music can change the world because it can change people.” Bono
Beats continued to flow and learning continued to grow throughout the summer with the support of the National Center for Families Learning’s Camp Wonderoplis. Families looked forward to dinner and activities at the Jan Moran Collier City Library. They manipulated music and explored the science of sound.
Families gravitated to DJ Christine from Girls Make Beats, having fun while creating their own transitions by matching tempo between songs. Their enjoyment kicked up at the last camp gathering when the DJ entered the Creation Station and she gave the participants the opportunity to observe Eddie, their expert music engineer at work. His teachings on ProTools had the crowd so amped! The crowd expressed themselves by having the recordings mixed into individually unique and creative expressions of music and sound.
Campers also wondered why their voices sounded different on a microphone. They laughed as they experimented with an old tape recorder and played their voices back from them. The participants were now understanding that even though their voices sounded funny and different, it didn’t mean other than people heard it that way. Science!
Robots Dash and Dot joined the symphony of sounds at the event. Dash or Dot are robots that perform a variety of activities that encourage children to program. Specifically, families used their creativity and the Xylo app to program Dash to play a Xylophone song that they created.
Science activity stations were set up in the final evening. The families learned how megaphones work by making megaphones and receiving a simple explanation about how the sound waves are amplified when they are concentrated through a tube. They made simple “harmonicas” and were fascinated by the sounds that they could make through their creations. Loud and fun! They learned how breathing out through the harmonica created air pressure, and that the air pressure caused vibration through the “harmonica” made with popsicle sticks, paper, and rubber bands. When that vibration is created, sound waves travel through the air and to our ears.
Lastly, the science of sound waves continued with kids exploring how sound travels. A spoon attached to yarn made a gong. The kids put the yarn to their ears, and the spoon was hit with a fork. They were shocked and amazed to hear that the sound was louder through the yarn held to their ears than to the sound without. When the ruler hit the spoon, it created sound waves that traveled up the yarn to their ears instead of spreading out into the air around them. The yarn acted as a conductor, an object that allows sound waves to travel.
By the end of the evening, they realized that when a ‘noise’ is made, it creates invisible sound waves that move through the air and to our ears. And that there are different ways that sound waves can travel.
Interested in bringing Camp Wonderopolis to your program? Camp Wonderopolis online learning content is free year-round for individuals, families, classrooms, and programs. Visit camp.wonderopolis.org to explore five unique editions of Camp Wonderopolis, each loaded with 42 lessons, six Maker activities, book lists, and more. To enhance your program, NCFL offers Campsite Kits available for purchase. Receive support and guidance to integrate Camp Wonderopolis into your programming when you purchase the Program Kit at store.wonderopolis.org.