Science outreach: building a theremin

[nanila]

Hello! I did my PhD in physical chemistry, in molecular dynamics, to be exact. Went on to a postdoctoral position at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, but was dissatisfied so when the opportunity to move to London cropped up, I quit and took it. I've found my way back to science via space physics, and now work on operations, calibration and archiving for the magnetometer on board the Cassini spacecraft orbiting Saturn.

I also try to spend at least two days a month doing outreach work with high school/secondary school kids. I give lectures, do demonstrations and run practicals for them.

I've been invited to run two physics projects at a summer school for Year 11 students (15-16 year olds). I have one project planned already: building a magnetometer and mapping magnetic fields around objects with it. As it is directly related to my work and I've used it before, I feel fairly comfortable with it.

The second project, building a theremin, is new to me. For those who are unfamiliar with it, a theremin is a simple electronic instrument that is played by positioning one's hands near its antenna(e). I found a company (Harrison Instruments) that produces a rather nice theremin kit within my budget of £70. Since the summer school only runs for a week, of which the students really only have three full days for the practical, I discarded the idea of having them build the circuit from a breadboard. I think they'd probably spend all their time learning about electronics and soldering if I did that, and there wouldn't be much time for them to learn any physics. The students will also have to give a presentation on the last day of the school. I thought it would be fun to have them learn to play the Doctor Who theme on it.

I'm planning to use the two oscillators in the circuit to help them learn about harmonics and beat frequencies. As I normally do my teaching at university level with people who have self-selected into science degrees, I'm having trouble assessing whether or not I should try to add any other conceptual illustrations to the project. This is where I'd like to hear the input of non-specialists. Comments answering any of the three questions below, or any other remarks, would be most helpful.

1. Does the experiment appeal to you?


2. For this age group (15-16) is it best to stick with one central theme (wave harmonics), or am I underestimating them?


3. What other concepts might I use the circuit or the theremin to illustrate?

Comments

[crankyoldman]

1. Heck yes. I love theremins.

2. It's best to stick with that for the original experiment (I remember in high school making ginormous windchimes), but you should totally have like... free play time once done. Honestly, it was the time we spent just fiddling in my physics class that kind of made me the engineer I am today. XD

3. My mind's drawing a blank.

But that's exciting!

[nanila]

1. Hurrah! I'm planning on having one that I've built for them to reference, so hopefully they'll be keen from the start.

2. I'm inclined to agree. These will be motivated students - they've signed up for summer school, after all - so letting them explore on their own will be vital.

Thanks!

[holyschist]

1. I had to go look up "theremin," but it sounds pretty awesome!

2. I think you could plan to cover two concepts, but be ready to drop one if you run out of time.

(I am so very not a physicist, fwiw; I took exactly two real physics classes in college, one of which was relativity for freshmen, and the other of which I squeaked by with a C.)

[nanila]

1. D'oh. I probably should have put a theremin description in this entry originally. Will add one now.

2. Yes, I think that's wise. I'm thinking I might have them investigate noise, as it's one of those problems that plague scientists and engineers in every field.

I wanted to hear from non-physicists, so thank you for taking the time to respond!

[aquinasprime]

1. I think its a great idea

2. I think sticking with one central theme is a good idea given the limited time that you will be spending with them. Plus this would give them time to play with the theremin (maybe even composing an original piece) - which would allow those who are less scientifically inclined to feel more excited about the project.

[nanila]

Composing an original piece is a brilliant idea. There will be five students in the group, so maybe 30 seconds each for a performance would work. Thank you!

Summer school project

[cesy]

In response to question 2, it depends partly on the ability level of the pupils in question - are they invited to the summer school because they won a physics competition, because they applied to a science summer school, or because a philanthropist set up a summer school for kids from underperforming/underprivileged schools? However, my advice would probably be to have one central theme, but a couple of sub-themes that can be ignored or dropped if they seem to be struggling, or made more of if they're doing well. Being able to be flexible was one of the hardest things I found with teaching at that age or just above, not that I've done that much of it.

Re: Summer school project

[nanila]

The students at this summer school have applied to attend. Most of them will have come from comprehensives, I believe. I'm expecting that they'll be pretty motivated. I'm going to plan a couple of short additional activities to measure noise and feedback in case I get an exceptionally quick group, but otherwise I'll stick to the central one. You're right, it is difficult to be flexible, especially when faced with a group of twenty students whose ability levels and interest vary widely. Fortunately, this project will have a maximum of five students working on it.

Thanks for your input!

[aquaeri]

I think this is a great project, and might particularly appeal to students who are interested in physics but a bit intimidated (which is a common situation for women in particular) so for the sake of those, in your position I'd work hard to make the physics accessible and always motivated through the musical side.

(this is based on my experience as an undergrad in a third-year neuroscience course - the tutor was aware there were a lot of biology students with no background or interest in electronics who could easily be intimidated by the electronics, and she saw it as a chance to use our interest in neuroscience to overcome the intimidation about electronics. I've also personally pulled a statistician who was intimidated by biology into being a biometrician.)

[nanila]

Yes, I'm going to try to dream up a title and abstract that will attract musically inclined students. That way, the ones who find themselves intimidated by the electronics can have a chance to experiment with making an original composition, which should be motivational.

Thank you for the suggestion.