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

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!