Physical Sciences
Light & Sound
Students sort materials as transparent, translucent or opaque, feel vibrations with tuning forks, build a box guitar to explore pitch, and create shadows with a torch.
Foundation–2
90 min
up to 30 students
$490 + GST
What students will do
Students test a range of materials against a torch to classify them as transparent, translucent or opaque, then create shadow shapes and explore how changing the torch position changes the shadow. Rainbow peepholes reveal that white light contains colours. Working in pairs, students touch a vibrating tuning fork to a ping-pong ball and water dish to see vibration made visible, then make a box guitar by stretching rubber bands across a box, adjusting tightness to change pitch. A cup-and-string telephone demonstrates how sound travels through solids, and a wave spring teacher demonstration closes the session.
Curriculum outcomes
Victorian Curriculum v2.0 content descriptions addressed in this session.
- VC2S2U12
Investigate that sound is produced by vibrating materials and that vibrations can be seen, heard and felt
- VC2S2U12
Explore how changes to a vibrating material — tightness, length — affect the pitch and volume of sound produced
Classify materials as transparent, translucent or opaque and investigate how light travels in straight lines to form shadows
Often booked alongside
Physical Sciences
Electricity
Students build working circuits, classify conductors and insulators, compare series and parallel configurations, and investigate how different energy sources (including hand-powered generators) produce electricity.
Physical Sciences
Force & Motion
Students measure forces with a spring balance, test friction across surfaces, feel inertia first-hand, launch reaction rockets, and explore magnetism and static electricity.
Physical Sciences
Heat & Energy
Students investigate how heat moves by observing convection currents, comparing conduction through plastic and metal using an infrared thermometer, and testing how insulators slow heat transfer.
Bring Light & Sound to your school
Tell us your year levels and preferred dates. We'll confirm availability and bring everything with us.
Limited dates each term — one facilitator, one school per day.