What's That Sound?!!

What Is This Video?

Listen along as Brad and Clem follow the sounds of the tropical rainforest - and find that the LOUDEST thing they hear isn't at all what they thought it would be.

Conversation Starters

Ask:
  • What are some of the nature sounds you hear in your neighborhood? What other sounds do you often hear?
  • Why do animals make sounds?
  • The Earthlings in the video were visiting a jungle, or tropical rainforest, in Borneo. Where else do you think you might find tropical rainforests? Why?
  • What makes a rainforest a rainforest? How is it the same or different from where we live?

Explore Some More

What's That You Say?

Find a place with relatively little traffic noise, such as a park or a quiet side street. Stand together in one spot, then have a member of your group take twenty steps away. Have him or her recite the alphabet in a normal speaking voice. Could you hear what the speaker said? Next, find a place with significant noise made by people, such as traffic or construction noise or the sounds generated by lawnmowers or leaf blowers. Repeat the speaking activity.Could you hear the speaker this time? Probably not! Talk about how noise in the environment affects animals. Ask why animals make sounds, and talk about how animals rely on the sounds they make for information. They use sound to find mates, to warn about predators, and even to find their way around. How might noisy surroundings affect an animal's ability to communicate?