When I'm not spending my time taking care of a squealing, wiggling, bundle of energy, I have a career as a chemical engineer. Dave is similarily employed in the area of environmental science. Needless to say, we are a family that is very into science. So, a few months ago, when I was asked to sign Isla up to participate in some baby language studies at the University of Calgary, I immediately jumped at the chance.
Earlier this month, I got a call saying that Isla was the right age for a study taking place on Learning Speech Sound Combinations and was I interested in taking her. I, of course, said yes and this Monday (since it was Family Day and Dave didn't have to work), we headed off as a family to the University.
The study was really simple. Isla and I sat in a room in front of a Smartboard monitor and two speakers. Certain images appeared on the Smartboard to draw the baby's attention to the monitor and then sounds were played to see if the baby had a reaction to them. During this time, I got to listen to an excellent Disney song about Huns on earphones so that I wouldn't skew the results. After Isla's part in the study, I participated in a dialect study where I had to read several short books into a microphone.
All in all, it took about 20 minutes to complete the study and in the end we got a certificate recognizing Isla's contribution to research and a little t-shirt that said she was an Infant Speech Scientist. We are supposed to head back in a few months for the next stage of the study as well so that should be something fun to look forward to.
Location: University of Calgary
Cost: Free (they met us in the parking lot with a pass so we didn't even have to pay anything to park) and we got a free t-shirt out of it.
Gear for Isla: Nothing at all
steamed artichokes
5 days ago
No comments:
Post a Comment