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Starring

You and Your Students!

Script By

Vicki Cobb, Education World Science Editor

Synopsis

Use paper cups to improve your hearing.

Genre

Sound, Hearing, The Senses

Props Required

• two 8-ounce paper cups for each student
• scissors

Setting the Scene (Background)

Show-Biz Science is scripted by popular children's book writer Vicki Cobb. Click to learn more about Vicki or to read a brief synopsis of her philosophy of teaching science. Visit our archive of archive of Show-Biz Science Activities. Watch for a new activity each week. Then chat with Vicki -- share your feedback and ask your questions about teaching science -- on our special Showbiz-Science message board. Be sure to visit Vicki's Kids' Science Page for more great science fun, a complete list of her books, and information about how you can invite Vicki to come to your school!

Sound from a vibrating object travels in all directions. The outer ears of animals and people “gather” sound waves and funnel them into the ear. Large ears collect sound better than small ones.

Stage Direction

Students will enjoy this activity and they will look adorable wearing their “super ears,” but the activity does take a bit of preparation. Older students can make their own ears, but an adult might need to cut the proper hole in the bottom of the paper cups for K-2 students. If you have parent volunteers, they can prepare “super ears” for the class.

The Plot

Act II
Make "super ears" by cutting holes in the bottom of the paper cups as shown in the diagram. Leave a small piece of the bottom of the cup so it will hook behind the ear. Each student should put a cup over each ear. They now have "super ears." Have the children listen quietly and see what sounds they now hear that they didn't hear before.

Super ears work even better if you cut an angled scoop off the front of the cups. More sounds are now funneled into the cups and their ears.

The End

Ask students to talk about animals' ears. Do they know of any animals that have large ears. Students might mention elephants or rabbits. Most bats have very large outer ears because they depend on collecting echoes. They send out high-pitched squeaks that bounce off an object and return to the bat's ears.

See more experiments with sound in Bangs and Twangs: Science Fun with Sound by Vicki Cobb, illustrated by Steve Haefele, The Millbrook Press, 2000.