Year 5’s Fascinating Trip to The British Library’s ‘Listen Up Sound Lab’ Workshop

On Tuesday, Year 5 had an unforgettable trip to the British Library, where they took part in the fantastic ‘Listen Up! Sound Lab’ workshop! They started by getting hands-on with a huge variety of materials – feeling bumpy sandpaper, crinkly foil, smooth plastic, soft fabric and corrugated card – and thinking about how different textures change how things sound. They carefully designed and made their own colourful texture strips, choosing and arranging materials to create unique sound surfaces. Then came the most exciting part! They used tablets to become real composers – mixing and layering incredible sounds from the British Library’s very own collection. They explored everything from the busy noise of Victorian streets to the surprising call of a rare glass frog, and blended these amazing historic and natural recordings with original sounds that they created themselves.