#factsforkids

The Greenland Halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) is a funny looking fish we encounter quite often when studying the sea floor around our research station. Although it looks like they are napping, they are actually flat and prefer to swim along the bottom! 

Learning Quiz: Why do flatfish have both of their eyes on one side of their face?

P.S. Thank you to Tumbler Technical Support Staff for helping us secure our blog from unauthorized mischief. From now on, expect uninterrupted learning about the oceans 😀 😉 🐟

Standing Sound Wave Tube

This exhibit component in Investigation Station at Children's Museum Tucson allows visitors to discover the three-dimensional nature of sound. As visitors scroll through different frequencies using a dial, a tone generator creates standing sound waves in a clear acrylic tube filled with Styrofoam™ pellets. The tube is approximately 36” long and 5” in diameter, allowing the standing sound waves to form in a clearly visible way. By experimenting with a range of tones, visitors discover that different sounds have unique wavelengths and shapes.

Sound Facts 

Sound comes from vibrations. These vibrations create sound waves which move through mediums such as air and water before reaching our ears.

Our ears vibrate in a similar way to the original source of the vibration, allowing us to hear many different sounds.

Dogs can hear sound at a higher frequency than humans, allowing them to hear noises that we can’t.

Sound is used by many animals to detect danger, warning them of possible attacks before they happen.

Sound can’t travel through a vacuum (an area empty of matter).

The speed of sound is around 767 miles per hour (1,230 kilometres per hour).

The loud noise you create by cracking a whip occurs because the tip is moving so fast it breaks the speed of sound!

When traveling through water, sound moves around four times faster than when it travels through air.

The scientific study of sound waves is known as acoustics.

Although music can be hard to define, it is often described as a pleasing or meaningful arrangement of sounds.

The sound of thunder is produced by rapidly heated air surrounding lightning which expands faster than the speed of sound.