National STEM Centre: Wave Machine Demonstration

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edited by the National STEM Centre

This 4-minute YouTube video shows how to build an inexpensive wave machine with gummi candies, wood kabob skewers, and duct tape. Part of the UK's National STEM Centre library, this resource could be used as a warm-up for discussion or as the basis for a low-cost classroom experiment for investigating wave propagation and factors that affect wave speed.

Editor's Note: We especially like this wave machine video because the host shows how to use it with learners who have little or no prior background in waves. It would be a great way to inexpensively introduce an engaging student-created investigation into transverse wave motion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE520z_ugcU

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Education Practices - Active Learning = Modeling Oscillations & Waves - Wave Motion = Transfer of Energy in Waves = Transverse Pulses and Waves	- Middle School - High School - Lower Undergraduate	- Instructional Material = Demonstration - Audio/Visual = Movie/Animation

Appropriate Courses	Categories	Ratings
- Physical Science - Physics First - Conceptual Physics - Algebra-based Physics - AP Physics	- Activity - New teachers	Currently 0.0/5 Want to rate this material? Login here!

Intended Users:: Learner
General Public
Format:: text/html
Access Rights:: Free access
Restriction:: Does not have a copyright, license, or other use restriction.
This organization is a digital library. Copyrights, in some cases, are held by the individual authors. Access is variable, and full details are available on the website for each resource.
Courtesy of:: https://www.stem.org.uk/terms-and-conditions
Keywords:: wave experiment, wave speed
Record Creator:: Metadata instance created February 25, 2016 by Caroline Hall
Record Updated:: February 25, 2016 by Caroline Hall

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<a href="https://www.compadre.org/precollege/items/detail.cfm?ID=13984">National STEM Centre. National STEM Centre: Wave Machine Demonstration. 2014.</a>

AIP Format

(2014), WWW Document, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE520z_ugcU).

AJP/PRST-PER

National STEM Centre: Wave Machine Demonstration (2014), <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE520z_ugcU>.

APA Format

National STEM Centre: Wave Machine Demonstration. (2014). Retrieved February 12, 2026, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE520z_ugcU

Chicago Format

National STEM Centre. National STEM Centre: Wave Machine Demonstration. 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE520z_ugcU (accessed 12 February 2026).

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National STEM Centre: Wave Machine Demonstration. 2014. National STEM Centre. 12 Feb. 2026 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE520z_ugcU>.

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@misc{ Title = {National STEM Centre: Wave Machine Demonstration}, Volume = {2026}, Number = {12 February 2026}, Year = {2014} }

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%T National STEM Centre: Wave Machine Demonstration %D 2014 %U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE520z_ugcU %O text/html

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%0 Electronic Source %D 2014 %T National STEM Centre: Wave Machine Demonstration %V 2026 %N 12 February 2026 %9 text/html %U https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE520z_ugcU

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