Egg Room Pickup Codes

Messages Across the Egg Room

A fourth-grade class visited a farm's egg-packing room. Workers sometimes needed to send short messages from a collection doorway to a packing table. Students tested model messages while the workers took a break. The students did not handle eggs or farm equipment. Their question was: How well would shape cards and sound signals carry the same information when a ventilation fan was off or on?

Step 1: The class made a shared code key with four messages. Each message used two shapes or two sounds in a set order. For cards, the sender held up one shape at a time. For sounds, the sender tapped a woodblock or rang a small bell. The sender waited three seconds after each complete two-part message before starting another. The receiver kept a copy of the key.

Step 2: Students marked two places six meters apart. One student sent messages, and another recorded what each message meant. The sender and receiver stayed in the same places throughout the investigation. The receiver had a clear view of the cards. The sender used the same card sizes, display times, and sound strength throughout. Students counted a message as correct when the receiver's written meaning matched the sender's message.

Step 3: With the fan off, the class sent ten card messages and ten sound messages. An adult then switched on the ventilation fan, which made a steady rushing noise. Students repeated both tests with ten messages each. Each group of ten used the same mix of messages, but students shuffled their order. The receiver could not see the sender's message list. The class recorded the results in the graph below.