How To Build A Pvc Sound Garden

Type	Project
Keywords	museum, sound garden, Primer, paint, pvc, L-Brackets, truss screws, nuts, washers, Draw Catches, Hitch Pins
SDG Sustainable Development Goals	SDG04 Quality education
Authors	Jacob Gellatly
Published	2017
License	CC-BY-SA-3.0
Affiliations	Engr215 Introduction to Design Redwood Discovery Museum Humboldt State University
Language	English (en)
Translations	Français, Español, Kiswahili, 中文, العربية, Русский, more
Impact Number of views to this page. Views by admins and bots are not counted. Multiple views during the same session are counted as one.	337
Cite as Jacob Gellatly (2017). "Redwood Discovery Museum sound garden". Appropedia. Retrieved 2021-12-3.

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Eureka, California

The purpose of the Sound Garden is to demonstrate to the user the physical relationships between wavelength and sound in a safe, interactive, and understandable way. The Sound Garden satisfies the weighted criteria specified by the client for building a PVC xylophone-like musical exhibit. Designed by The Engineers That Could, The Sound Garden is a musical addition to the Redwood Discovery Museum's collection of wave-related exhibits. The design is a fun, appealing way for museum-goers of all ages learn about the physics of the sound. The Engineers designed the project for their Engineering 215 - Introduction to Design class at Humboldt State University.

Background [edit | edit source]

Ken Pinkerton from the Redwood Discovery Museum in Eureka, CA asked for an exhibit that will educate kids about the physical nature of sound.

Problem statement and criteria [edit | edit source]

The Redwood Discovery Museum needed a new musical exhibit to demonstrate the relationships between physics and sound. The objective of the Sound Garden project was to sustainably create and implement a new exhibit that was safe, educational, and appealing to all ages.

Description of final project [edit | edit source]

The Sound Garden is an instrument that displays the relationships between physics and sound. The exhibit uses varying pipe length in order to achieve desired notes. Re-purposed rubber spatulas are used as playing mallets. The display can be split in half for easy transport, and can be secured together with brass latches.

Costs [edit | edit source]

Quantity	Material	Source	Cost ($)	Total ($)
1	Schedule 40 1-1/4" PVC Pipe	Pierson Hardware	5.99	5.99
49	Schedule 40 1-1/4" PVC - 45 degree	Pierson Hardware	1.29	63.21
13	Schedule 40 1-1/4" PVC - 90 degree	Pierson Hardware	1.29	16.77
13	Schedule 40 1-1/4" PVC connectors - Straight	Pierson Hardware	0.69	8.97
2	10-24 x1-1/4" Truss screws (100 ct.)	Pierson Hardware	7.99	15.98
2	10-24 x1-1/4" Nuts (100 ct.)	Pierson Hardware	2.00	5.79
1	Washers (100 ct.)	Pierson Hardware	2.99	2.99
4	L-Brackets	Pierson Hardware	0.89	3.56
4	Draw Catches	Pierson Hardware	3.49	13.96
4	Hitch Pins	Pierson Hardware	0.40	1.60
1	Primer	Pierson Hardware	10.34	10.34
8	Paint	Pierson Hardware	4.49	35.92
1	Primer	Pierson Hardware	10.34	10.34
8	Paint	Pierson Hardware	4.49	35.92
Total Cost				$231.52

Testing Results [edit | edit source]

The Sound Garden is currently on display at the Redwood Discovery Museum. The staff is excited to officially open the exhibit on Tuesday December 5th, 2017.

Troubleshooting [edit | edit source]

Problem	Suggestion
Pipes are not going into elbow assembly	Loosen bracket
Notes are not playing clearly	Inspect connection between elbow assembly and vertical pipes

Discussion and next steps [edit | edit source]

The Team hopes that kids visiting the museum will learn about the correlation of music and physics through the Sound Garden. The Sound Garden teaches this through interactive use of the different color coded pipes that vary in length as well as an educational music book that goes along with the musical instrument.