Video
The World of Sounds
Transcript
Oh, hello there, you caught me playing with my musical instruments. I have a tambourine here and I also have my egg shaker. My name is Ranger Melissa and I work at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Thanks for joining me today for Park Ranger Playtime. We are going to explore the world of sounds that can be found here in the park and all around us, wherever we are.
No matter what time of year you visit Pictured Rocks, there’s lots of amazing places to see but there is also lots of cool things to hear too. You can hear the quacking calls of wood frogs in a wet forest in spring, the crashing waves on a rocky shore along Lake Superior in summer, the honking calls of migrating geese in a blue sky in autumn, and water dripping from long melting icicles hanging from the cliffs in winter.
My favorite thing to listen to in the park is all the different ways water can sound. For instance, the sound of this moving creek rushing and bubbling over the rocks, going down the bends, around the turns, is music to my ears.
When I’m standing at one of our waterfalls, like Munising Falls behind me, all I can hear is the rushing sounds of the water tumbling down the cliff.
Since I love listening to water, rain is another sound that I enjoy hearing at the park or anywhere. Even when it isn’t raining outside, I sometimes use my rainstick. All I have to do is turn it over to hear the rain. Watch and listen.
It’s okay if you don’t have a rainstick. You can make the sounds of rain with just using your body. Want to try? Follow me and we’ll make a rainstorm together. If you have family or friends close by, have them join in. The more people, the louder your rainstorm will be. I have a few friends behind camera to help me.
First, I want you to imagine stormy gray clouds in the sky. They are heading your way. You know that rain is coming. You can feel it. Slowly, the rain begins to fall.
I want you to rub your hands together to make the sound of quiet rain. The rain begins to fall a little faster now, so, stop rubbing your hands and start softly clapping your hands. Uh oh, the rain is falling even harder, clap your hands loudly.
Oh my, listen to that rain! And here come the darkest clouds yet! Start stomping your feet on the floor and slapping your hands on your legs.
Wow! Can you even hear me over the loud rain? I think I can hear your rain stomping and slapping at home all the way from here. Nice job! Let’s slow it down.
The rain clouds are moving on and the rain is slowing down, let’s softly clap again. The clouds are getting further and further away from us, the rain becomes just a sprinkle so rub your hands together one more time.
Ah, here comes the sun above the rain clouds. The rain has stopped, and the storm has passed. You can see the dark clouds off in the distance. Look, there’s a rainbow!
Thanks friends, that was fun making a rainstorm with you. Now you know what to do if you ever want to hear the sound of rain. Try teaching this to a friend and play it with them.
Now I’d like to show you how to make a craft so that you can hear sounds even better, just like some animals do. Have you ever noticed some animals have really big ears?
Looking at this picture of a white-tailed deer up close, you’ll notice the ears are quite large when you compare it to the size of its head. This picture of an eastern cottontail rabbit also shows it has long, large ears on the top of its head. Another example is the bobcat, this picture shows the big triangle shaped ears on the top of its head too.
When animals have big ears, it means they can hear really well. So animals like the bobcat can hunt for food, or animals like the rabbit can avoid becoming food.
To make your animal ears craft, you’ll need a paper plate – it can be a large or small plate, it just needs to be bigger than your ears – you’ll need a pair of scissors, and some crayons. Start by taking the paper plate and cutting it right down the center so you have equal halves. Or a pair of ears or one, two animal ears.
In the center of each paper plate, take a crayon and draw a half circle. Then cut out that half circle. This is where you are going to tuck your human ears into your animal ears. It’s okay if you need an adult to help with this part.
Next, I want you to decide what animal you want your ears to be. Color each ear like that animal. Hmm, I’m think I’ll color red fox ears.
There’s no right or wrong way to color your animal ears. Feel free to color the whole plate or make animal ears inside the plate like I’m doing here. Have fun and be creative!
Once you’re done with your animal ears, you are ready to play and listen with them.
Well, friends, it’s time to wrap up Park Ranger Playtime but I hope you take your animal ears outside to listen for sounds in your backyard, your neighborhood, or your local parks. Make sure you’re with an adult, be safe, and have fun listening to all the sounds you can find. Hmmm, where should I go to listen with my animal ears? I know!
This is Ranger Melissa from the Sand Point Marsh Trail at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore saying thanks for playing with me today. Alright, fox ears, let’s see what we can hear. See you next time.
Description
Young children are invited to play and learn right from home, or preschool, with Ranger Melissa to discover sounds. Listen to nature sounds in the park during all four seasons, find out how to make a rainstorm with just using your body, and learn how to make your own animal ears to hear even better!
Duration
8 minutes, 21 seconds
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