LFCDS 2nd Graders Use STEAM Skills to Create Musical Instrument

A project creating a blueprint and prototype for a musical instrument seems like a good practice for a college student with a double major in science and visual arts.

But that’s what some second grade students at Lake Forest Country Day School (LFCDS) began working on last week.

The semester-long project, part of the Lower School STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) program at the school, will require students to apply their lessons on the principles of sound and the physics of waves to produce a functioning musical instrument. Once each student has planned his or her blueprint, he or she will build their musical instrument from common items and recycled materials.

Kevin Nicholson, a lower school science teacher who is teaching the students the principles of sound waves and how they can be manipulated to produce musical effects, says the students will be “focusing on developing three different pitches” for their instrument.

Visual Arts teacher Kristen Anderson will provide a perspective into the engineering and designs of Leonardo DaVinci and how integrating the science behind waves with the more creative outlets of design and engineering will bring everything together to create an instrument from scratch.

“I love this STEAM project as it is truly a balanced composition,” Anderson said. “Our second-grade students are able to utilize their scientific experiments and methods gained in Mr. Nicholson’s class with the artful thinking strategies they develop in my class to construct an instrument out of recycled materials that functions.”

The grand finale, as Anderson called it, is when the students will work with Lower School music teacher Maria Hempen to compose a musical score with the instruments once they are created.

“This comprehensive endeavor reflects our STEAM program in action,” Anderson added.