What's the best material for soundproofing?

Check this out! The quietest place on Earth is an anechoic chamber in Minnesota, USA. It's a room designed to completely absorb sound. There are lots of different reasons why we might want to reduce the volume of sound. but what are the best materials to do this? 

Let's make an insulated box and find out. Find a speaker or phone and play your favourite song. Now put it in your box surrounded by different materials. What has this done to the volume of the music? Don't forget to make it a fair test and share your results.

We want to thank the Institute of Acoustics for their support in creating this activity. They bring together lots of different people working in acoustics, noise and vibration from across the whole country. That's a lot of people! 

So what is a Curiosity Challenge? 

It's time to put your thinking caps on. Where will your curiosity take you as you get stuck in with a science experiment or research challenge? Have fun with biomimicry in action and dig into the facts about some real life STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) experts.