World Listening Day: Discover How Sound Shapes STEM Learning
Every day we’re surrounded by sounds, but how often do we stop to listen?
This World Listening Day (July 18th), TERC is celebrating the power of listening through Sound Travels, an NSF-funded research project exploring how sound influences learning in informal STEM settings such as zoos, parks, botanic gardens, and science centers.
The Sound Travels team is investigating how different soundscapes affect visitors’ attention, curiosity, conversations, and learning. Researchers are studying questions such as:
- Which sounds capture and sustain attention?
- How do sounds encourage families and groups to learn together?
- How can museums, parks, and other informal learning environments intentionally design soundscapes that support richer learning experiences?
Researchers are finding that visitors who reported hearing sounds that prompted them to think also reported stronger learning outcomes during their visits.
To celebrate World Listening Day, we’re also sharing two free activities that encourage learners to explore the sounds around them:
- Active Listening Mission invites participants to complete a sound scavenger hunt by identifying everyday sounds, reflecting on the most interesting one they hear, and even drawing what that sound might look like.
- The Listening Lilypad offers a series of playful listening challenges, from searching for the quietest place nearby to finding favorite animal sounds, listening while walking at different speeds, and noticing the smallest sounds in nature.
Whether you’re visiting a science center, walking through a park, or simply stepping outside your front door, these activities offer a new way to experience your surroundings.
Explore Sound Travels: https://www.terc.edu/soundtravels/learn-more/