Sound Games

Materials 
Gather some objects from your home – anything from kitchen tools to office supplies – to explore the sounds they can make.

Suggested objects

• A wooden spoon
• A comb
• A cardboard box
• A rubber band
• A metal pot
• A plastic container
• A wire-bound notebook
• A pen

Think up some other objects to try out!

Directions

Watch the video below from MIT Edgerton Center for Sound Games inspiration! Then follow these steps:

1. Taking turns, a player chooses an object from the pile and uses it to make a sound.
2. A chooser chooses an object and gives it to a player.
   That player must use the object to make as many sounds as possible.
   If you’re playing for points, you can get a point for each new sound.
3. After the player has made all the sounds they can think of with that object,
   challenge the chooser to think of a new way to play that object - if the chooser succeeds,
   they get a point for each new sound they make.
4. The player becomes the chooser and gives the object to another person.

This activity supports the practice of these STEAM Habits of Mind: Develop Craft, Engage & Persist, Observe, Reflect, Stretch & Explore.

Get your child actively involved in their own learning and have their questions drive their learning. Let them observe and figure it out, and try to hold back from answering questions for them. Instead, try to ask: What do we know? What else can we find out? How might we figure that out? Don't be afraid to ask your child questions. Also, don't be afraid to say, "I don't know--let's find out together!" as a way to respond to their questions.

Want to learn more about making music and sound?

More hands-on activities and learning opportunities:

• Cambridge Public Schools Virtual Enrichment Recommendations
• The Music Box interactive music pod cast  (grades K-5)
• Chrome music lab (grades 5-8)
• STEAM Initiative workshop - STEAM and music (for teachers/parents)
• MIT Edgerton center's weekly package - making music and sound activities for all ages broken down by grade band
• Raising Creative Children - Six steps for kids to start creating Rap music
• Exploratorium's Science Snacks  Water-Bottle Membranophone (5-8)
• Scientific American Tune Up Your Rubber Band Guitar! (3-8)
• Google AR expeditions  Auditory System