In Eighth Grade Science, the students have been learning about sound and light waves. After learning about their various properties, our scientists put their minds to work on building a sound dampening device in the 3D lab. The goal of this project was to repurpose materials and build a structure that fit their iPad, which recorded sound. Choosing from a variety of boxes, linens, and egg cartons, most students were able to muffle or “dampen” the sound played—and many groups were able to decrease the sound intensity by nearly 10 decibels. After running their tests, each group wrote a report that included their interpretation of the results. Overall, the students had a lot of fun and quickly learned that linens were the best material to use.

The eighth graders also had a special guest, Dr. Sujoya Dey Raghupathy, director of Cardiac Physiology at Marin Health Cardiovascular Medicine. She came in to complement our waves unit by talking about electric signals as they relate to the heart and our circulatory system. She showed the students the various tests she runs and demonstrated examples of faulty signals that trigger certain heart conditions. She even brought in a human heart for the students to observe, touch, and ask questions about!