Listening & Hearing

Aeolian Harp

An eerie orchestral chord floats on the breeze; it’s the shimmering sound of a 27-foot tall harp being strummed by the wind.

Where: Gallery 5: Outdoor Exhibits

Big Tuning Fork

Distinct tones combine in the hum of this tuning fork.

Where: Osher Gallery 1: Human Phenomenon

Echo Tube

Make a sound into the echo tube and listen for it to reflect back from the far end. You’ll hear a half-second delay, and strange distortions created by the journey.

Where: Gallery 5: Outdoor Exhibits

Echo Tubes

Experiment with echoes with these three long tubes. Why does a clap come back as a ping? What does it take to make a good echo?

Where: This exhibit is not currently on view.

Find The Highest Note

This keyboard creates tones that seem to keep getting higher—forever.

Where: Osher Gallery 1: Human Phenomenon

Focused Conversation

This giant balloon bends sound waves just as a lens bends light.

Where: This exhibit is not currently on view.

Humming Plates

Sand reveals vibrations that are normally invisible.

Where: Bechtel Gallery 3: Seeing & Listening

A piece consisting of a cylinder and guitar strings, that when plucked, demonstrate how strings behave when they vibrate to produce sound. Both the tension and the length of a string effect the frequency of vibration (pitch of the sound). Shorter or tighter strings vibrate faster to make higher tones and vice a versa, while the horizontal distance between the peaks and valleys of each wave reflects the loudness of the sound.

Where: Osher Gallery 1: Human Phenomenon

Out Quiet Yourself

As you walk across the gravel floor of this short tunnel, a sound meter measures your loudness and gives you a score. Can you beat your previous score? Can you beat your friends’ scores?

Where: Bechtel Gallery 3: Seeing & Listening