Use Your Ears Activity (5 Minutes)

String IT Along

Use your ears activity (5 minutes)

Listen for three minutes. Ask the children to record with a pencil and paper all of the different sounds they hear. If it is nice outside, this could be an outside activity. Ask the children to share different sounds they hear using their ears.

Introduction

Your ears are extraordinary organs. They pick up all the sounds around you and then translate this information into a form your brain can understand. One of the most remarkable things about this process is that it is completely mechanical. Your sense of smell, taste and vision all involve chemical reactions, but your hearing system is based solely on physical movement.

Your ears are in charge of collecting sounds, processing them, and sending sound signals to your brain. And that's not all — your ears also help you keep your balance. So if you bend over to pick up your cat, you won't fall down.

The ear is made up of three different sections: the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. These parts all work together so you can hear and process sounds. Materials:

Paper Cups String Sharpened Pencil Instructions

As a group, discuss how sound travels through waves and vibrations. http://science.howstuffworks.com/question410.htm

1. Take two paper cups and poke a small home through the center of the bottom of each cup; a pencil tip will work for this. The hole should only be big enough to fit the string though, don’t make the hole too big.

2. Poke the end of the string through one of the cups and tie a knot on the part that is inside the cup.

3. Make the string as long as how far away you will be from the other person.

4. Poke the other end of the string though the hole in the other cup and tie a knot so it will not pull though the cup.

5. Now that you have a cup on each end of the sting it is ready to use.

6. Hold the cup to your mouth and talk a little loud into it. Have your friend hold the other cup up to their ear.

7. Use the experiment sheet to record your results.

Record the following results

Ask the children to make predictions before they perform the different sound tests. Afterwards, ask them to record their observations and compare with other groups.

String length of 3 feet

String length of 20 feet

Pinch the string

Let the string hang loose

Wrap hands around listener’s cup

Wrap hands around speaker’s cup Finish up by bringing the class together to review and compare final results and ask why? Make connections to the way sound travels to explain why certain methods worked better than others.

Computer Engineering

Microchips are embedded in everything from toasters to telephones, so many industries need computer engineers.

Computer engineers are needed at computer and/consumer electronics manufacturers such as Apple Inc., Canon, Hitachi, and Hewlett-Packard); telecoms such as Verizon and Qualcomm; supercomputer makers such as IBM and Cray; software giants like Microsoft and Oracle; solar energy providers such as SunEdison; and computer-game companies like Electronic Arts. Of course, Google, the ubiquitous provider of web-based services, certainly hires them, too -- indeed, cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are computer engineers.

Today's fastest supercomputers will eventually be left in the (very) slow lane, computer engineers say. Future quantum computers, which work by manipulating atoms and molecules, will be millions of times faster than anything available today.

Interested in healthcare? Computer and software engineers are part of multidisciplinary efforts to develop next-generation functional imaging technologies that will provide earlier detection -- and better treatment -- of a wide range of ailments, including heart disease, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, and even drug and alcohol addictions.

Microchips are embedded in everything from toasters to telephones, so many industries need computer engineers, including computer and consumer electronics manufacturers (Apple Inc., Canon, Hitachi, Hewlett-Packard); telecoms (Verizon, Qualcomm) supercomputer makers (IBM, Cray); software giants (Microsoft, Oracle); solar energy providers (SunEdison), and computer- game companies (Electronic Arts). Of course, Google, the ubiquitous provider of web-based services, certainly hires them, too -- indeed, cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are computer engineers. Read about them in the eGFI magazine.

Raynelle Callender attended the University of Virginia and now works for Rolls-Royce North America's civil aero-engine market, using her engineering background in a business setting. As part of her job, she gets to travel to many countries, including Brazil, China, and Germany.

COOL FACT: Callender is a member of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE). In 2006, she was recognized as a Modern Day Technology Leader at the annual Black Engineer of the Year Awards conference, which recognizes individuals who are helping to shape technology in the future.