Can You Hear Me Now? Designing a Communication Device
Can you communicate without electricity? In this activity, students explore a problem in which a school’s power has gone out and they need to deliver an important message to a neighboring first grade classroom. However, they must stay within the following constraints: they cannot use cell phones and they have to stay in their classroom while doing so. Students research and use a variety of tools and materials to build, test, and retest a device that communicates sound the most clearly while learning about and demonstrating how sound causes vibrations.
Students are testing their preliminary tin can telephone designs.Copyright 2021 Kayla Sutcliffe, University of Florida MRET
Engineers solve problems and discover practical solutions that impact lives. Communication is a vital part of life. Without a telephone, communication is extremely difficult. Students are encouraged to think like engineers using the engineering design process. They investigate and examine variables through design, and conduct background research on various tools and materials. Materials engineers develop, process, and test materials used to create an array of products. They identify needs and constraints, research, imagine possible solutions, choose a solution, and then they create, test, and iterate upon a design to reach an optimal solution.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Identify a communication problem and research possible solutions.
- Use tools and materials to design and build a communication device.
- Think and outline design iteration suggestions.
- Explain and demonstrate that sound can make materials vibrate.