Anime Foley Engineering Challenges

Woven Learning
Foley Warm-Up Lab
Six quick sound-engineering challenges. Pick one, grab your materials, and build.
Challenge 1 · ~18 min🔊 Foley tie-in
Phone Amplifier
Make your phone LOUDER with zero electronics — just shape.
🧰 Materials (per group)
1 paper cup · 1 sheet of cardstock · tape · scissors · 2 phones (one plays the song, one runs the meter app)
📈 Get the free decibel meter app (it shows the loudness number)
Scan a code, or search the store for the app name. Watch the Max / Peak reading — that's your score.
📱 iPhone
Search: Decibel X
(free)
🤖 Android
Search: Decibel X
(free)
▶ Build it
  1. Pick your shape. Cut a phone-width slot in the cup, OR roll the cardstock into a cone/horn that funnels into the cup.
  2. Aim it. The opening points out at the room — like a megaphone.
  3. Get the meter app (QR codes below) on one phone, play your song through the amplifier on the other.
  4. Test a partner group. Point your meter app at their amplifier and read the Peak; then swap. Tweak your shape and beat your score.
🏆 How to win: Loudest Max/Peak on the decibel meter app wins. Same song + same volume (max), and hold the meter the same distance away every time.
Challenge 2 · ~18 min🔊 Foley tie-in
Box Guitar
Build a string instrument from a cup — then tune it like a pro.
🧰 Materials (per group)
1 sturdy cup (or small box) · 4 rubber bands of different thickness · 2 pencils (optional) · phones with the tuner app
🎵 Get the free tuner app (open Pano Tuner — it shows the note name)
Scan a code, or search the store for the app name. Use it in its normal chromatic mode — it reads any note, not just guitar strings.
📱 iPhone
Search: Pano Tuner Lite
(free)
🤖 Android
Search: Pano Tuner
(free)
▶ Build it
  1. String it. Stretch the rubber bands around the cup so they cross the opening like strings.
  2. Pluck & read. Open the tuner, pluck a band, watch the note it shows.
  3. Tune it. Slide a pencil under a band to raise the pitch, or swap to a thicker/looser band to go lower.
🏆 How to win: Hit the target the teacher names — land closest to the note A, or get the lowest note in the room — read on the tuner app.
Challenge 3 · ~15 min🔊 Foley tie-in
Decibel Duel
Loudest team wins — but you can't touch a single object.
🧰 Materials (per group)
Nothing! Just your group, the room, and the class decibel meter on screen.
🔊 Scored on the class decibel meter — watch the big needle & Peak number on screen.
▶ Build it
  1. Plan a 5-second blast. Bodies and voices only — clap, stomp, shout, cup your hands. No objects.
  2. Time it together. Everyone on the exact same instant beats everyone going randomly.
  3. Take your shot. One group at a time, 5 seconds, watch the needle spike.
🏆 How to win: Highest Peak on the laptop meter across 3 rounds. Best single peak per group wins.
Challenge 4 · ~18 min🔊 Foley tie-in
Soundproof the Buzzer
Trap a screaming alarm so the meter barely hears it.
🧰 Materials (per group)
~6 sheets of paper · 2–3 paper cups · tape · one phone playing an alarm · (jackets & backpacks allowed too)
🔊 Scored on the class decibel meter — watch the big needle & Peak number on screen.
▶ Build it
  1. Start the alarm. Loop a phone alarm or ringtone at a set volume.
  2. Build the trap. Wrap and pack in layers — crumpled paper, cups, soft stuff. Fill every air gap.
  3. Test quiet. Same distance from the meter; read the number; add layers; beat your score.
🏆 How to win: Lowest reading on the laptop meter with the alarm sealed inside — measured at a fixed distance.
Challenge 5 · ~18 min
Marshmallow Tower
Tallest tower that can hold a marshmallow on top — the classic.
🧰 Materials (per group)
20 spaghetti sticks · 1 meter of tape · 1 meter of string · 1 marshmallow
▶ Build it
  1. Marshmallow goes ON TOP — and it counts in your height. That weight is the whole challenge.
  2. Build a base that won't tip. Triangles beat squares.
  3. Test the marshmallow EARLY. Teams who add it last usually watch the tower flop.
🏆 How to win: Tallest tower, floor to the top of the marshmallow, that stands on its own for 5 seconds.
Challenge 6 · ~8–10 min🔊 Foley tie-in
Cup-String Telephone
Send your voice down a string — then bend it around a corner.
🧰 Materials (per group)
2 paper cups · 3–5 meters of string · tape or a toothpick (to anchor the string)
▶ Build it
  1. Anchor the string. Poke a hole in each cup bottom, thread the string, knot it or tape a toothpick inside so it can't pull out.
  2. Pull it tight. One talks, one listens — the string must be taut, touching nothing.
  3. Whisper test. Back up to full length and whisper. Then route it around a corner.
🏆 How to win: Clearly hear a whispered word across the fully-stretched line. Stretch goal: make it work around a corner.
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