The Lights & Sounds of Tinseltown

Key Stage 1

INTRODUCTION

The Lights and Sounds of Tinseltown is based on the sections on light of Attainment Target 4 of the National Curriculum for Science. We aim to make the scientific content self-explanatory but these notes will give you a guide to the topics covered so that preparatory and follow-up work can be done.

Our story follows two small town kids, Betty Beam and Cosmo Lens as they leave Sticksville and head to Hollywood to see their names in lights. Along the way they discover where light comes from, what happens when there’s no light and all about shadows.

SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS EXPLORED

LIGHT - WHERE IT COMES FROM

Cosmo Lens is the projectionist at the Sticksville Empire. His girlfriend, Betty Beam wants to know all about light and Cosmo asks her where light comes from. She realises it comes from the sun during the day and from torches when it’s dark.

Cosmo and Betty ask the audience if, apart from torches, they can think of anything else that makes light. With the help of the audience we discover that at night we use electric lights, when coming home from school street lamps help us see the way and that lights are also used to warn us, eg on a crossing when crossing the road.

Cosmo points out that hot things also give out light. He asks the audience what gives out light on bonfire night and we see that light comes from the bonfires and from the fireworks. Cosmo also shows us that light can come from the moon at night and that’s why we can sometimes see at night even without lights.

The Sun gives light during the day

We use light at night

Hot things also give out light like bonfires or fireworks

Betty and Cosmo, with the help of the audience have thought of lots of things that give out light, but Cosmo wonders what we’re left with when there’s no light and we realise that without light we have darkness. Betty and Cosmo sing a song about light and the children learn the chorus:

Light, it travels down from the sun.

And from lights at night.

So when it’s dark you just switch right on,

Then you’ll see the light!

There are some actions that go with the song, which Betty and Cosmo teach to the audience, and everyone then sings along. The audience are asked to sing the chorus again later on in the play.

Cosmo and Betty decide to go to Hollywood to seek their fame and fortune and with hope in their hearts they set off.

In the classroom. The children could make a list of as many sources of light as they can think of, including hot things and things that give off light and try to think of as many uses for light as they can.

THE REFLECTION OF LIGHT

Cosmo and Betty arrive at Megapics Studios where they try to get themselves a job. Cosmo is told there is a vacancy for a lighting man on the new movie staring the great film star Belisha Beacon. Cosmo is really excited. Belisha Beacon is his all time favourite star. But before he is given the job he has to work out how to light both sides of Belisha’s face. (The last lighting man was sacked for only lighting one side of Belisha ) With the audience Cosmo works out how it can be done:

A member of the audience is chosen to be Belisha Beacon, the great Hollywood star, and stands in the light that is coming from only one side of the stage. Cosmo and the audience work out that most of the light that is lighting Belisha is coming from the stage light.

Only one side of Belisha is in light

Cosmo asks the audience how he can light Belisha’s dark side. Together they work out that if they reflect the light using a mirror both sides of Belisha’s face will be lit. Cosmo uses Mr Megapics’ mirror for the experiment and now, thanks to the audience, Belisha is perfectly lit.

Light bounces off the mirror to light Belisha’s face

Cosmo gets the job and starts the next morning. Poor old Betty, however, is given the job of coffee girl for Mr Megapics the Studio Boss, a position she is not exactly excited to be given, but she decides to make the best of it and she agrees to start tomorrow too.

In the classroom: the children can do their own experiment using a torch, a mirror and an exercise book. Try lighting one side of the book with the torch. Move the torch in and out to see when the book seems at its brightest. Now see if you can use a mirror to light both sides of the book. Where does the mirror need to be placed to be most effective?

SHADOWS

After their first day Betty and Cosmo meet back at Betty’s aunt’s house down on Sunrise Cul-de-sac. Cosmo has had a wonderful day. He met the great Belisha Beacon and has unwittingly become her spy, agreeing to tell her if he hears about anything untoward going on. Betty has already found being a coffee girl no fun at all but is keen to hear all about Cosmo’s day.

Cosmo and Betty discuss different materials. Cosmo explains that some things let light pass right through, like glass, water and air. However, some materials only let some light through like the blind in Betty’s room, gauze or tracing paper. Betty notices her fan magazine doesn’t let any light through. Cosmo asks Betty what we are left with if no light can get through an object and she realises at once that it is a shadow

Light passes through the glass

Betty’s blind only lets in some light

A shadow is created by the absence of light

Cosmo and Betty sing the song from the first scene, but this time about shadows. The children are encouraged to join in with the chorus, using the words and actions they learnt before.

Cosmo and Betty then play a game with the audience. Cosmo stands behind the window and holds up several objects which cast a shadow on the window. Betty and the audience then have to tell him what the objects are using only their shadow. Cosmo shows us a comb, a ball, a cup and what looks like a hand but turns out to be a glove. Cosmo then makes the point that the shadow of an object always takes on the shape of the object itself.

We finish by singing the chorus of the song through once more.

Cosmo thinks Belisha is the most bewitching star around but Betty has heard otherwise. She overheard Mr Megapics plotting to fire Belisha at the end of the film. It seems Belisha’s to greedy for her own good. Cosmo is appalled and decides to tell Belisha at once. Betty begs him not to but his mind is made up and they go their separate ways.

In the classroom: the children could try measuring their own shadow at various points throughout the day, firstly when they arrive at school, then at lunchtime and then just before they go home. What has happened to the shadows? Try playing Cosmo and Betty’s game. Collect a variety of objects and, with a light behind and a screen in front, hold up the objects one by one.

See how many the children can recognise just from the shadow. The children could then try this for themselves. What is the best position to hold the object to get the sharpest shadow?

THE COLOURS OF LIGHT

Mr Megapics doesn’t understand how a film could be shot in colour and his assistant, Miss Dayglo, explains to him that light is in fact made up of lots of different colours.

She explains how, when rain hits water it is split into all the colours of the rainbow, and she demonstrates using coloured ribbons: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.

In the classroom: the children can experiment using a prism to see if they can make a rainbow. Place the prism on a piece of white card with a torch shining towards it. Darken the room and see if you can see the colours on the card.

The children can remember the order of the colours using the sentence ‘Richard of York gave battle in vain’. You can create your own sentence using the first letter of each colour as the first letter of each subsequent word in the sentence.

GOOD SOUNDS, BAD SOUNDS

Mr Megapics and Miss Dayglo discuss sounds and what it would be like without sounds. They try to be quiet but realise that even if they are not making any noise they can still hear all sorts of sounds in the world. With the audience they make a list of nice sounds and horrible sounds.

In the classroom: discuss what sounds are very loud and very soft. Try to be quiet in class for 30 seconds and see what sounds you heard. Discuss when loud sounds might be dangerous to our ears..

LOUD SOUNDS, SOFT SOUNDS

Mr Megapics finds that when making a speech those at the front are the only ones who can hear him. Miss Dayglo concludes that the nearer you are to the sound the louder it is and he tries talking much louder to get his voice to reach the back.

In the classroom: again the class could be silent for 30 seconds and discuss the sounds they heard. List the sounds from loudest to softest and look at how close the classroom is to the loudest and how close to the softest. Get the class to draw conclusions about why we hear some sounds louder than others.

THE END OF THE PLAY

Belisha tries to bring down the studio when she hears that Betty has taken over her part and Cosmo suddenly realises he’s been a fool. The Belisha he was bewitched by was nothing more than a shadow on the screen. Having seen the error of his ways he saves the studio and he and Betty finally make up and live happily ever after.

Show Requirements

The actors will be arriving approximately forty minutes prior to the start time in order to set up and will need to have access to the school hall from then. They bring the set, lighting and sound equipment with them so only need access to a plug socket. They’ll need a space approximately 15’ wide by 10’ deep with the children sitting in front, either seated or on the floor. The show works well ‘on the flat’ but if it’s more convenient for the actors to use your stage, please let them know on arrival. This show lasts one hour with a two minute ‘q & a’ session at the end.