Rainsticks are ceremonial instruments that mimic the sound of falling rain. Native Americans of Central and South America used them to appeal to the rain gods to bring rain for the harvest. Traditionally, people made rainsticks from the dried, hollowed-out body a cactus, which they would fill with small pebbles or crushed shells. Kids can learn to make their own versions of Native American rainsticks by substituting cardboard tubes for cacti. Once finished, kids can create the sound of falling rain by turning their rainsticks gently from side to side to shift the contents in the instrument.
Instructions
1. Tape a piece of poster board or tag board to one end of the cardboard tube with clear packing tape. Make sure you cover the opening completely.
2. Twist a sheet of newspaper into a tight, narrow spiral shape.
3. Push the newspaper spiral into the open end of the tube. Don't worry if the newspaper becomes slightly bent or crushed in the process.
4. Leave excess newspaper, no more than 4 inches in length, hanging out of the open end of the tube.
5. Pour a handful of uncooked rice into the tube. Instead of rice, you can use beans, sand, small gravel or popcorn kernels. Different contents will create different sounds.
6. Listen to the sound that the uncooked rice makes as it falls to the bottom of the tube. If you think the rice falls too fast, push the excess newspaper hanging out of the tube into the tube to create a greater blockage that will slow the rice down.
7. Add another handful of uncooked rice into the tube and listen to the sound it creates as it falls to the bottom. If you think the rice falls too slowly, you can always pull the newspaper inside the tube straighter to help the rice fall faster.
8. Seal the top end of the tube by taping a piece of poster board or tag board over the opening. If you did not need to push the excess newspaper into the tube, you can trim it before you seal the tube.
9. Decorate the outside of the tube with markers, paints, glitter or feathers.
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