The following resources are based on (and use resources from) the Ashfield Music Festival project produced by the Institute of Physics.

Introduction

A fictional council, Greendale Council, is inviting bids for a contract to construct the stage at an upcoming music festival. This festival is a three-day event to be held at an outdoor site, which has a capacity of 15,000 people. Greendale Council is committed to environmental sustainability, and bidders are encouraged to prioritise this. Each company will be expected to provide a plan including details of:

• Site layout
• Sound equipment
• Lighting equipment
• Staging

The project leads students through the process of applying GCSE physics knowledge to allow them to choose the most appropriate equipment to build the stage. At the end of the project students produce their plan which they present to the 'council' to try and win the contract.

Power

This section builds students' knowledge of:

• the relationship between current, voltage and resistance
• the relationship between current, voltage and power
• basic electric circuit diagrams

Using this knowledge they will be able to select type generator needed and the size of any cables.

Sound and Light

This section builds students' knowledge of:

• waveforms
• the relationship between frequency, wavelength and speed of a wave
• calculating the amplitude, wavelength and frequency of waves

Using this knowledge they will be able to select suitable speakers and lights for their festival.

Construction

This section builds students' knowledge of:

• the relationship between weight and mass
• applied forces

Students will use this knowledge to plan the size of stage structures for their music festival.