The Roaring Ruler

The Roaring Ruler

You will need: A ruler, string, drill or gimlet.

Find an old ruler and bore a small hole near one end, being careful not to split the wood.

Take about 2 feet of thin, strong twine and tie one end to the hole in the ruler.

You will need a clear space for this experiment so we suggest you try it outdoors. Whirl the ruler around as fast as you can. The ruler will emit a roar that is quite startling. The sound is caused by vibrations of the twine.

Try the same experiment with differently shaped pieces of plywood and see what difference in sound you can achieve. Try attaching the ruler to a loop of twine and see what happens when there are two strings to vibrate as you whirl the ruler.

Children learn best through doing

Before children can understand a thing, they need experience: seeing, touching, hearing, tasting, smelling; choosing, arranging, putting things together, taking things apart. Experimenting with real things.

Old-time school teaching used only words and the teachers thought children knew something if they could repeat it. Now we know better. To reach practical understanding we do not need to use many words with young children.

Children are clever. They learn a lot, without being taught. The greatest skill - to be able to talk, to communicate is learnt outside school. In the classroom it's the children who need to talk the most. Unfortunately it is the teacher who does most of the talking!