How sound waves can be fun for primary school children (2025 Update)
Educational and Fun Activities
Written by Alexandra Stone
30 May 2024
🕓 10 min
How Sound Waves Can Be Fun for Primary School Children
Sound waves are all around us, shaping how we experience the world—yet they often remain invisible. However, learning about sound waves doesn’t have to be boring or overly scientific. With the right hands-on activities, primary school children can see, feel, and hear how sound waves work in a way that is fun, interactive, and memorable.
At The Science of Sound, we believe that STEM education should be exciting and engaging, which is why we incorporate playful experiments, movement-based activities, and creative sound demonstrations in our STEM workshops, after-school clubs, and holiday camps. By making learning interactive, children develop a deeper understanding of acoustics, vibrations, and the science of sound waves.
This blog explores five exciting activities that transform sound waves from an abstract concept into a fun and engaging experience for primary school children.
1. Water Ripple Experiment
Sound waves are invisible, but their movement is similar to ripples in water. This activity provides a visual representation of how sound waves travel by demonstrating wave patterns in a way that children can see and understand.
Materials Needed:
✔ A large bowl of water
✔ A small stone or pebble
Steps:
- Fill a large bowl with water and let the surface settle.
- Drop a small stone into the water and watch how the ripples spread outward.
- Explain that sound waves travel in a similar way—when something makes a sound, it creates vibrations that move outward in waves.
- To extend the activity, have children clap their hands near the water and observe if the ripples react to the air vibrations.
Why This Works:
This visual demonstration helps children grasp the idea that sound moves through different materials just like water waves move through water. It also introduces the concept that sound waves need a medium (air, water, solids) to travel through.
Fun Fact:
Sound moves four times faster in water than in air! That’s why marine animals like dolphins and whales rely on sound waves to communicate underwater.
At The Science of Sound, we use interactive activities like this in our STEM workshops, holiday camps, and after-school clubs, helping children develop a strong foundation in sound science while having fun.
For more details on sound movement, check out our blog post What is Audio Wavelength? to understand how wave length impacts sound.
2. Tuning Forks and Water
Sound is created by vibrations, and this activity allows children to see vibrations in action using a simple tuning fork and water.
Materials Needed:
✔ A tuning fork
✔ A cup of water
✔ A soft object (rubber mallet or hand)
Steps:
- Strike the tuning fork against a soft object to make it vibrate.
- Quickly dip the tips of the vibrating tuning fork into the cup of water.
- Watch as ripples appear in the water, showing how sound vibrations create waves.
- Ask children to listen closely—they might hear the tuning fork humming as it vibrates!
Why This Works:
This experiment demonstrates that sound is a vibration. The tuning fork moves rapidly, disturbing the water just like it disturbs air to create sound waves. It also shows how sound waves transfer energy through different materials.
Fun Fact:
Did you know that tuning forks are used in medical tests to check hearing and bone conduction? The vibrations help doctors assess how sound travels through the body!
At The Science of Sound, we use hands-on experiments like this in our STEM workshops, after-school clubs, and holiday camps, allowing children to see, hear, and feel the power of sound waves.
3. Rubber Band Guitar
Music and sound waves go hand in hand, and this simple DIY rubber band guitar activity helps children explore how different sound waves create different pitches.
Materials Needed:
✔ An empty tissue box or shoebox
✔ Rubber bands of various thicknesses
✔ A pair of scissors (optional, for cutting holes if needed)
Steps:
- Stretch different-sized rubber bands around the open part of the box.
- Pluck each rubber band and observe how each one produces a different sound.
- Explain that the thicker rubber bands create lower-pitched sounds, while thinner bands produce higher-pitched sounds.
- Experiment by tightening or loosening the bands to see how tension affects pitch.
Why This Works:
This activity demonstrates how vibrations create sound, and how factors like thickness and tension influence pitch. It’s a great way to introduce the concept of frequency and wavelength in a fun, musical way.
Fun Fact:
String instruments, like guitars and violins, work the same way! The length, thickness, and tension of each string determine the pitch of the sound produced.
At The Science of Sound, we use creative sound-based activities like this in our STEM workshops, after-school clubs, and holiday camps, helping children explore the connection between music and sound science.
You can dive deeper into the connection between tension and pitch by reading What is Audio Amplitude?.
4. Paper Cup Telephone
Sound waves travel through different materials, and this classic paper cup telephone experiment is a fun way to demonstrate how sound waves move through solids.
Materials Needed:
✔ Two paper cups
✔ A long piece of string
✔ A sharp pencil or skewer (to make holes)
Steps:
- Use the pencil or skewer to punch a small hole in the bottom of each cup.
- Thread the string through both holes and tie knots at the ends to keep it in place.
- Stand apart, pulling the string tight.
- One child speaks into one cup, while another listens at the other end.
- Observe how the sound travels through the string instead of the air!
Why This Works:
This experiment shows that sound waves travel faster and more efficiently through solids than through air. The vibrations move along the string, carrying the sound from one cup to the other.
Fun Fact:
Did you know that early telephone systems used wires and cables to transmit sound, similar to this experiment? Modern fibre-optic cables use light instead of sound, but the principle is the same!
At The Science of Sound, we incorporate interactive learning experiences like this into our STEM workshops, after-school clubs, and holiday camps, giving children a hands-on way to understand how sound waves move through different materials.
For other fun, at-home experiments, check out 5 Child-Friendly Ways to Visualise Sound at Home.
5. Sound Wave Dance
Sound waves are not just something we hear—they also move and travel through space. This fun, movement-based activity lets children act out how sound waves travel in a hands-on way.
Materials Needed:
✔ A large open space (indoors or outdoors)
✔ A group of children
Steps:
- Have the children form a line and hold hands.
- Explain that sound waves move in patterns and travel through air in a chain reaction.
- The first child starts by making a wave-like motion, passing the movement down the line, just like a sound wave moves through a medium.
Try different speeds—fast movements represent high-frequency sounds, while slow waves represent low-frequency sounds.
For extra fun, play music and have children match their waves to different rhythms!
Why This Works:
This physical demonstration helps children understand that sound moves through waves of energy. It also connects sound waves to movement and frequency, reinforcing the concept of pitch and amplitude.
Fun Fact:
Did you know that low-frequency sounds travel farther than high-frequency sounds? That’s why elephants use deep, rumbling sounds to communicate over long distances!
At The Science of Sound, we integrate movement and hands-on activities like this into our STEM workshops, after-school clubs, and holiday camps, making science an interactive and immersive experience.
Final Thoughts
Teaching primary school children about sound waves doesn’t have to be complicated. By using fun, hands-on experiments and movement-based activities, children can see, feel, and experience sound in an engaging way.
These activities help children understand key STEM concepts, including vibrations, pitch, frequency, and wave motion, while keeping the learning process interactive and memorable. By encouraging play-based learning, we help develop curiosity, problem-solving skills, and scientific thinking.
At The Science of Sound, we bring sound science to life through our interactive STEM workshops, after-school clubs, and holiday camps, providing children with a dynamic and engaging way to explore the wonders of sound.
Ready to spark curiosity and excitement about science? Join us at one of our hands-on learning experiences today!
